For the Mets, it’s on to Super Tuesday with a smile.
In a season of mistakes, the Mets hit their lowest point yesterday when they threw the ball away in the infield three times on one fifth-inning play, their version of the Buttfumble leading to two Cubs runs.
Kirk Nieuwenhuis’ three-run walkoff home run changed everything, though, lifting the Mets to a 4-3 victory over Carlos Marmol and the lowly Cubs at Citi Field and setting the stage for Atlanta.
One of the Mets’ younger players finally contributed to a win, and now they enter Phase II of their season, putting everything on the powerful right arms of Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler, who will make his major league debut tomorrow in the second game of a doubleheader at Turner Field against the Braves.
It’s Wheels Up.
Marlon Byrd, who started the ninth-inning rally with a leadoff home run off Marmol to get the run-starved Mets on the board, spoke for his teammates when he talked about the anticipation of seeing Wheeler pitch.
“I can’t wait to see Wheeler,’’ Byrd told The Post. “Having Harvey and Wheeler back-to-back now, I’m excited.
“I remember coming into spring training, and I had just finished playing in the Caribbean Series the week before, so I was ready. I was swinging the bat well off our pitchers, and then I saw Wheeler’s first pitch and he was the only guy I wouldn’t swing off of, I didn’t want him messing me up. I said, ‘I’m not swinging, he might break my bat or something.’ He’s got electric stuff and God, everybody is excited to see what he can do.’’
The Mets have to get through Tim Hudson tonight and then get their look at the flame-throwing future.
“This gives you a pretty good look at what 40 percent of the staff is going to look like,” David Wright explained. “I’m excited to see Wheeler throw, and hopefully he can learn from what Matt has been through and kind of buddy up next to him in both work ethic and preparation.’’
Wright offered a word of caution: “He’ll probably try to throw the ball 120 miles per hour, he’s going to be amped up, but hopefully after that one start he gets a chance to know Matt and Matt helps him out. Matt was kind of in the same situation last year, and the fact that he has transformed himself into what he is today is impressive to what he was last year because last year he was raw, a thrower. Now he’s a pitcher.’’
Wright’s overthrow to first off a diving stop of an Alfonso Soriano two-out smash in the fifth set the wheels in motion for the Little League play. Daniel Murphy retrieved the bouncing ball and fired to the right of catcher John Buck as Starlin Castro scored. Shortstop Omar Quintanilla ran down the ball about 20 feet from the Cubs’ on-deck circle and his hurried throw was in front of the plate and got past the spinning Buck as Nate Schierholtz slid home.
Nieuwenhuis rocketed his one-out home run to deep right off a fastball to make the Mets a winner and overcome that Father’s Day Flub. The outfielder has just returned from Triple-A Las Vegas. Perhaps Wally Backman fixed his swing.
“I’ve rotated my front foot a little bit and focused on attacking the fastball early in the count,” Nieuwenhuis said.
“I was letting too many of them go. I feel a lot better now. Going down was a blessing for me for sure.’’
Nieuwenhuis has watched Wheeler develop. He can’t wait to see the right-hander make his debut tomorrow.
“I’m real excited,’’ Nieuwenhuis said. “The last time I saw him in Tacoma, his ball was moving a lot. It’s pretty crazy. He was throwing 95-mph front-hip sinkers to lefties. It was pretty impressive.”
Now it is on to The Show.
kevin.kernan@nypost.com