MIAMI — Zack Wheeler felt “terrible” for his entire afternoon of work, but kept the Mets in the game Monday.
Trying to get Wheeler a victory, manager Terry Collins stuck with him in the fifth inning against the Marlins, but the final out never came for the right-hander following David Wright’s fielding error.
All told, Wheeler allowed five runs, three of which were unearned, on five hits with two walks and eight strikeouts in the no-decision. The outing was Wheeler’s shortest since June 25, when he lasted two innings in a loss to the Athletics.
“I was just leaving breaking balls up in the zone and nothing was really working for me,” Wheeler said after the Mets’ 9-6 loss at Marlins Park. “It was just a bad day.”
Giancarlo Stanton homered against Wheeler in the first inning and hit two more shots against him that just managed to remain in the ballpark. Both were caught.
“If he was at our place today, he would have had three home runs against me,” Wheeler said. “I hung a lot of breaking balls to him, and that’s what he does, he crushes mistakes.”
Bartolo Colon remained with the Mets into September, all but assuring he will finish the season with the club. The veteran right-hander cleared waivers, but had no takers on the trade market before the Aug. 31 deadline for players to have postseason eligibility.
The fact Colon is owed $11 million for next season could have been a deterrent for potentially interested teams.
“A lot of these teams are struggling for starting pitching,” Collins said. “And we’ve got a guy who has had a pretty good year and nobody came crazy to knock the door down and help themselves out, so I was a little surprised there wasn’t more activity, but I’m happy he is still here.”
It is unclear whether Josh Edgin, who has bone spurs and tendinitis in his left elbow, will pitch again this season, according to Collins. The lefty reliever will be reevaluated this week.
Erik Goeddel made his major league debut by pitching two-thirds of a scoreless eighth inning, walking two batters. The right-hander arrived with Josh Satin, Juan Centeno and Dario Alvarez in the first wave of September call-ups.