Tommy Gilligan/USA Today Sports, via Reuters
WASHINGTON — If Zack Wheeler, the Mets’ third starter, needed any reminder that his 10-1 record during the second half of last season meant nothing in the new campaign, the Nationals were happy to provide one on Sunday.
With the Mets on the verge of collecting a series sweep, Wheeler surrendered a single on his first pitch. By the bottom of the third inning, he gave up a three-run homer to Nationals shortstop Trea Turner. Wheeler, whose fastball topped out at 98 miles per hour, was removed from the game after the fifth, having given up four earned runs.