Mickey Callaway praises Zack Wheeler's performance and Mets' clutch hitting late vs. Phils

Mets snapped six-game losing skid

8/31/2019, 4:11 AM

The Mets were in a tough spot on Friday night, entering a game against Phillies ace Aaron Nola on the road, losers of six straight games.

And while Nola dazzled for most of the night, Mets' starter Zack Wheeler went toe-to-toe with him, keeping the Mets in the game and allowing the bats to do the talking late in the Mets' 11-5 win.

Down 1-0 in the seventh inning, the Mets turned to Wilson Ramos off the bench, who delivered in a huge spot with an RBI single to tie the game and extend his hitting streak to 23 games.

Then, with the game still tied in the eighth, the Mets opened the floodgates. A two-run single by Amed Rosario got things started, and two home runs from Todd Frazier and another from Michael Conforto helped push the Mets' lead to 11-1.

"Rosie's, Ramos, those are the (hits) that we've been missing," Mickey Callaway said after the game. "Then you kind of get rolling, and you see the byproduct of that. We put up 10 more. 

"Great job, they kept on grinding. Their starter Nola was fantastic. That was one of the best I've seen him. Just throwing 3-1 breaking balls for strikes, 2-1 breaking balls. He was pretty good today. Wheeler matched him pitch for pitch and gave us a chance."

Nola had dominating stuff early, and he cruised through the first six innings. He got in trouble in the seventh though, eventually allowing Ramos' RBI hit. Nola went 6.1 innings allowing just one earned while striking out seven.

Wheeler was just as good, going seven innings of one-run ball. He gave the Mets exactly what they needed from their starter.

"It's a big game. Losing six in a row, you've just got to get back on the right track, and that was all I was trying to do tonight was just put up zeros and give us a chance to win. 

"I can't say enough about those guys in the field tonight making great plays … The guys worked hard tonight. We stayed in the game and were able to put a lot of runs on the board late."

The Mets will send Steven Matz to the mound on Saturday to face off against former teammate Jason Vargas, as they look to claw their way back into the Wild Card standings.


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