Zack Wheeler left the mound Friday night having held the National League’s highest-scoring offense without a run, but his screwup was too much to overcome.
He handed the ball to the bullpen.
In line for his first win since April 29, Wheeler watched his shutout disappear and his victory replaced with a no-decision in a 7-4 loss to the Cubs at Citi Field.
“It’s what you want to see out of every starting pitcher,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “He did his job and probably more than his job to get us where we needed to be. Again, we just couldn’t hold it.”
The inconsistent righty wasn’t dominant, but repeatedly escaped trouble and won the most important battles against one of the league’s toughest lineups. Though Wheeler allowed runners to reach base in five of the first six innings, he maintained the Mets’ 2-0 lead and extended the starters’ scoreless streak to 18 innings.
“I think I was able to keep them off balance for the most part,” Wheeler said. “I worked the inside of the plate, slider was a little better, and curveball was working, and sharper, and the split was working.
“I guess it was just coming out a little easier today.”
Wheeler came back for the seventh and surrendered a leadoff single to Addison Russell. The Mets starter nearly induced a double play on his next batter, but Amed Rosario was covering second base — with Russell in motion — and a harmless ground ball became another single.
Paul Sewald allowed a sacrifice fly to Kyle Schwarber and an RBI double to Ben Zobrist to tie the game, with Wheeler responsible for both runners. Two batters later, the Cubs took the lead for good, and the Mets were on their way to a sub-.500 record for the first time this season.
“I think it’s just one inning that’s been killing me all season, and other than that, I think I’ve been doing pretty well,” Wheeler said. “I just gotta limit the one inning, and today I was sort of able to do that.”
Wheeler, who now has a 5.14 ERA, allowed two runs, seven hits and two walks, with four strikeouts. The 28-year-old threw 103 pitches (65 strikes) and has now thrown six or more innings in seven of 10 starts this year.
