PHOENIX — It wasn’t pretty, but Zack Wheeler managed to limit the damage.
In what rated as the right-hander’s best performance of his three to start the season, Wheeler allowed two runs on six hits and three walks over 6 ¹/₃ innings in the Mets’ 7-3 victory over the Diamondbacks on Monday.
Wheeler improved as the game progressed, allowing only two hits and a walk after the fourth inning. He was finished at 97 pitches.
“I did have the three walks which was kind of a disappointment,” Wheeler said. “But I did get some faster outs and kept my pitch-count down for the most part. I would have liked to get through the seventh.”
For the Mets, it was a much-needed performance after Bartolo Colon lasted only five innings on Sunday, following two straight extra-inning games in which the bullpen was taxed.
The key inning was the third, when Wheeler loaded the bases on two walks and a single, but escaped with only one run scoring. In the fourth, he picked off Chris Owings at first base to end the inning.
In his previous start, Wheeler allowed four earned runs on eight hits against the Braves and was removed after five innings.
Noah Syndergaard allowed two earned runs on five hits over five innings Monday for Triple-A Las Vegas against Fresno and got the victory. The right-hander is 2-1 with a 3.94 ERA for the 51s.
Rafael Montero pitched five no-hit innings for Triple-A Las Vegas on Sunday before surrendering a leadoff double in the sixth at Fresno. The right-hander allowed two hits and two runs over 6 ¹/₃ innings and improved to 2-0.
Defensively, the Mets have held their own.
Though error totals alone can’t paint the entire picture of a team’s defensive ability, the Mets aren’t booting many plays, either, as evidenced by the fact they have committed only five errors in 13 games.
“I’m a huge proponent of defense,” manager Terry Collins said before the Mets’ victory at Chase Field. “If you catch the baseball, you’ve got a chance to win. It wasn’t an error, but we threw to the wrong base [Sunday] and it ended up costing us two runs. Those mistakes we’ve got to avoid.”
Daniel Murphy has three of the team’s errors. Ruben Tejada and Jose Valverde have each committed one.
The 10 home runs the Mets allowed in their three-game series against the Angels tied a franchise record, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Mets had last allowed 10 homers in a three-game series on July 2-4, 1999, against the Braves. Entering play, the 21 homers allowed by the Mets led the major leagues.