Schwei: Wheeler's Debut, Nieuwenhuis' Walk-Off, Hawkins' 900th And More Mets Notes
By John Schweibacher
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Zack Wheeler is scheduled to make his major-league debut on Tuesday night in the second game of the Mets' day/night doubleheader against the Braves in Atlanta.
Wheeler's stats at the Triple-A level are remarkably similar to Matt Harvey's, who is slated to start the day portion of Tuesday's twin bill. Here are Wheeler's stats in his 19 combined Triple-A outings for Buffalo in 2012 and for Las Vegas this season, and Harvey's 20 starts prior to his call-up last season:
Pitcher G W/L ERA IP BB K
Harvey: 20 7-5 3.68 110 48 112
Wheeler: 19 6-4 3.72 101.2 43 104
15 pitchers in the Mets' history have gone at least five innings, allowed five hits or fewer and two runs or less in their major-league debuts as a starter, including a pair of Wheeler's new teammates:
Date Mets Pitcher Dec. IP H R ER BB K
8/23/12 -- Collin McHugh vs COL: ND 7 2 0 0 1 9
7/26/12 -- Matt Harvey at ARZ: W 5.1 3 0 0 3 11
9/7/10 -- Dillon Gee at WAS: W 7 2 1 1 3 4
4/9/04 -- Tyler Yates at MTL: ND 6 5 0 0 0 4
4/5/98 -- Masato Yoshii at PIT: W 7 3 0 0 1 7
7/17/95 -- J. Isringhausen at CHI: ND 7 2 2 2 2 6
9/24/88 -- David West at STL: W 5 5 1 1 2 3
6/9/86 -- Rick Anderson vs PHI: ND 7 4 1 0 2 5
4/7/84 -- Dwight Gooden at HOU: W 5 3 1 1 2 5
9/6/83 -- Ron Darling vs PHI: L 6.1 5 1 1 1 6
5/20/81 -- Greg Harris at SF: ND 6 4 2 2 2 5
9/16/74 -- Randy Sterling at MTL:ND 5.2 2 2 2 3 2
7/31/72 -- Brent Strom vs MTL: W 6.2 2 2 1 4 7
4/16/67 -- Bill Denehy at PHI: L 6.1 3 2 2 6 8
6/10/66 -- Dick Rusteck vs CIN: W 9 4 0 0 1 4
(Thanks to the Pitching Game Finder on baseball-reference.com for compiling this list.)
Kirk Nieuwenhuis' three-run home run gave the Mets a 4-3, come-from-behind victory over the Cubs on Sunday at Citi Field. According to the Ultimate Mets Database, Nieuwenhuis' homer was the seventh in club history to win a game with the Mets trailing by at least two runs when the batter came to the plate:
6/16/13 -- Kirk Nieuwenhuis: three-run HR vs. Carlos Marmol (CHI)
8/30/92 -- Bobby Bonilla: grand slam vs. Rob Dibble (CIN)
9/5/83 -- George Foster: three-run HR vs. Al Holland (PHI)
6/14/80 -- Steve Henderson: three-run HR vs. Allen Ripley (SF)
6/26/63 -- Tim Harkness: grand slam vs. Jim Brewer (CHI)
6/7/63 -- Duke Snider: three-run HR vs. Diomides Olivo (STL)
8/21/62 -- Marv Throneberry: three-run vs. Elroy Face (PIT)
It was also the 24th three-run, game-ending homer in the Mets' history. The last player to hit a three-run, walk-off home run for the Mets was Cliff Floyd, who did it against the Angels' Brendan Donnelly to give New York a 5-3, 10-inning win on June 11, 2005 at Shea Stadium.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last three times that the Mets have overcome a deficit of three or more runs in the ninth inning or later to win a home game have been against the Cubs (September 25, 2004 and May 17, 2007).
Latroy Hawkins' next appearance will be the 900th of his major-league career, tying him for 23rd all-time. Five of the top 17 pitchers who have the most career appearances were at one time members of the Mets, including the current top three:
Pitcher Games Rank
Jesse Orosco: 1,251 (1st)
Mike Stanton: 1,178 (2nd)
John Franco: 1,119 (3rd)
Roberto Hernandez: 1,010 (12th)
David Weathers: 964 (17th)
Happy Recap: Walk-Off Wins -- Sunday's victory vs. the Cubs was the Mets' sixth walk-off win of the season. The Mets have just 14 home wins total so far in 2013.
Nine Miles of Rough Road: Tough Month -- Coming into Sunday's game, the Mets had gone 8-16 dating back to May 18. The Mets went 4-0 against the Yankees, but just 4-16 vs. all other opponents (the Cubs, Reds, Braves, Marlins, Nationals and Cardinals) during the 24-game stretch.
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