About the only positive Zack Wheeler can take from Tuesday night is he likely will get a chance to rinse it from his palate.
The Mets right-hander is expected to make at least one more start in 2013, all the chance he needs to forget the fact he couldn’t hit the side of a barn against the Giants.
Wheeler walked six batters over five innings — and took a no-decision — in the Mets’ 8-5 loss to the Giants at Citi Field.
“It was unexpected what we saw tonight, because this guy has pitched so much better than how he did tonight,” manager Terry Collins said. “The one thing we’ve been raving about is that he’s had command of his pitches and tonight he couldn’t find the zone.”
Angel Pagan’s solo homer against Sean Henn in the seventh inning snapped a 4-4 tie before the Giants added two insurance runs in the eighth and another in the ninth.
Travis d’Arnaud left the game with a sore right shoulder, after getting hit by a Hunter Pence foul tip in the second inning. Wilmer Flores, who has battled ankle soreness in recent weeks, was removed from the game in the sixth inning. D’Arnaud said he expects a quick return to the lineup, and Collins said Flores’ removal was more a tactical decision, as part of a double-switch.
Wheeler lasted five innings in which he surrendered four earned runs on three hits and six walks. It was the second time in three starts the right-hander allowed at least five walks.
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David Wright hoped to be back in the Mets lineup after being out since early August with a strained right hamstring, but Collins decided the Mets’ captain needed more time, and the manager added Wright might not play until next week.
“He’s not ready yet,” Collins said before the game. “He probably won’t play this series.”
The reason for the delay, Collins said, wasn’t Wright’s hamstring, but the fact he has been inactive for so long.
“It goes back to, unless you’ve been out there doing it, you have no idea the wear and tear it takes on your body to be in that static position, ready to react,” Collins said. “Not just the reaction itself, but he’s been a little sore, not in the hamstring, but in the lower back.”
Wright’s extra work has taken a toll, as well.
“All the ground balls, fielding, throwing and hitting,” Collins said. “He’s stiff.”
Collins called Wright being able to play by this weekend “a possibility.”
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Matt den Dekker started in right field for the first time in his major league career Tuesday, with Juan Lagares in center.
“We’ve got to see it,” Collins said of den Dekker in right. “We’ve gotten Matt out there enough and he’s got to be a little acclimated to the outfield now, especially here in this ballpark, so we wanted to see him in right field and Juan in center.”