ATLANTA — Zack Wheeler’s return to where it all began was a performance he will try to forget.
Ten months removed from his major-league debut at Turner Field as part of a “Super Tuesday” showcase that included Matt Harvey, the Mets right-hander added “Stupor Wednesday” to his résumé.
With Wheeler pummeled in the fifth inning and Ervin Santana close to untouchable in his Braves home debut, the Mets had little traction in their attempt to reach .500 for the first time.
“I was aggressive today,” Wheeler said after the Mets rallied for three runs in the ninth, but lost 4-3 to the Braves. “That was my goal coming into this year, to be aggressive. Sometimes when you miss with your pitches they take advantage of it. Sometimes they don’t and you have a good game.”
In this case, the Braves capitalized with three runs against Wheeler (0-2) in the fifth. He lasted only five innings and allowed four earned runs on eight hits with six strikeouts. It came after a mediocre season-debut last week in which the right-hander allowed three runs over six innings against the Nationals.
Jason Heyward fought Wheeler in an 11-pitch at-bat leading off the bottom of the first and won the battle, with a missile that cleared the right-field fence to put the Braves ahead.
“It’s a tough way to start off the game, going that deep into the count and giving up a home run to end the at-bat,” Wheeler said. “It was a good at-bat for him.”
The Braves hammered Wheeler in the fifth, sending eight batters to the plate and scoring three runs. Heyward’s RBI single gave the Braves a 2-0 lead before Freddie Freeman delivered a two-run single later in the inning. Wheeler’s trouble began with a leadoff double to Evan Gattis, and the pitcher Santana’s single put runners on the corners with one out.
“All of a sudden the little extra wasn’t on his fastball,” manager Terry Collins said. “He left some balls on the plate and they got some hits.”
Travis d’Arnaud said it was mostly about Wheeler’s location in the fifth.
“His pitches came over the middle of the plate,” d’Arnaud said. “He left some up and they had timely hitting.”
In his big-league debut here last June 18, the native of nearby Smyrna, Ga., pitched six shutout innings and earned the victory.
Santana (1-1) was brilliant, firing eight shutout innings in which he allowed only three hits and struck out six. The right-hander began the game by throwing 20 consecutive strikes and ran his total to 29-of-30 before beginning to dabble outside the strike zone in the third inning.
Daniel Murphy doubled in the sixth, but Heyward made a lunging catch in right field to rob David Wright, ending the inning.
The Mets didn’t awaken until the ninth, when Juan Lagares delivered a two-run single against closer Craig Kimbrel. D’Arnaud followed with an RBI single that sliced the Braves’ lead to 4-3 before Kimbrel struck out Ruben Tejada to end it.
“We didn’t win, but we did a great job the last inning,” Lagares said.
The damage against Wheeler in the first inning could have been worse had Lagares not made a wild catch, crashing into the center-field fence to rob Freeman.
Andrelton Simmons topped Lagares an inning later by throwing out d’Arnaud from his knees, deep in the shortstop hole.
“It was a great play by Simmons,” d’Arnaud said. “I think I need some speed training.”