Zack Wheeler’s body is letting him down
Zack Wheeler’s right arm is sound, but that doesn’t mean his body has completely returned to pitching shape.
The Mets’ right-hander was reminded of this fact in the middle innings Wednesday against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Suddenly, he began losing his mojo.
“I haven’t pitched in two years, so I am going to get a little tired even though I myself or people don’t think I should,” said Wheeler, who is scheduled to face the Phillies on Tuesday at Citi Field.
“The body is not used to throwing that many pitches right now, so it’s kind of weird when you get to 60 or 70 pitches and you’re like, ‘Man, I should be good, but my body is a little tired.’ Maybe I need to run more or something, but it’s not that. It’s just that your body is not used to it.”
Wheeler, who spent two years rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, followed a sluggish return to major league action two weeks ago against the Marlins with a respectable performance in Philadelphia to earn his first victory since Sept. 19, 2014
Wheeler took a shutout into the sixth, but loaded the bases with two outs and was removed. Maikel Franco smashed Hansel Robles’ first pitch for a grand slam, leaving Wheeler with three earned runs allowed. But the Mets survived in a 5-4 victory that completed a three-game sweep.
“Just confidence-wise I think I did well,” Wheeler said. “I bounced back from my first start and I could throw my offspeed pitches for strikes, command them a little better.”
Jeurys Familia pitched a perfect sixth inning with one strikeout for Double-A Binghamton on Monday against Portland in his second minor league appearance. The right-hander is scheduled for a Thursday return to the Mets after his 15-game suspension for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy.