The zone athletes talk about being in when things are going well came early for Mets right-handed pitcher Zack Wheeler in his major league debut.
“From the first pitch, honestly,” Wheeler said. “I came into the game trying to concentrate on the mitt and (catcher Anthony) Recker back there. I was able to do that. I still had some nerves going, but it worked out.”
The highly touted Mets prospect struck out seven in six scoreless innings and got the win as the Mets beat the Braves 6-1 to complete a doubleheader sweep Tuesday. Wheeler allowed four hits and five walks, and threw 55 strikes in 102 pitches.
“First you see the stuff, then you see the life in the strike zone,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “When he throws strikes, the ball has great life… I was really impressed with the way he competed when he walked a couple of guys. He stepped off the mound, got his composure and went after people with his fastball.
“That’s pretty impressive because a lot of guys at this level think you have to trick people. He didn’t do that, he went right at them.”
Wheeler is a Georgia native, born and raised in Smyrna before moving to Dallas, Ga. and playing at East Paulding High School. There was a strong contingent cheering for him from behind the Mets’ dugout.
His favorite Braves player growing up was Chipper Jones, who was on hand to see Wheeler’s performance. Wheeler said he couldn’t have imagined a better situation than pitching in Atlanta for his first start.
“There were definitely some huge fans out here,” he said. “It was a good experience. They were loud. I heard them.”
Wheeler became the second consecutive Mets starter to allow no earned runs in at least six innings of work in his major league debut, joining Collin McHugh. In 13 starts with Triple-A Las Vegas, Wheeler was 4-2 with a 3.93 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 68-2/3 innings.
He got in a jam during the sixth inning, but Collins left him in. Collins wanted to see how Wheeler would respond to adversity.
“I appreciate that he did let me go back out there and finish that,” Wheeler said. “It was a big time in the game. I veered down a little bit. I was throwing strikes and just battled through it.”
