NEW YORK _ There's nothing more maddening for a manager and pitching coach than trying to put Zack Wheeler's starts into perspective.
There are days, says Mets manager Mickey Callaway, when the right-hander is brilliant. And there are more days like Wednesday, when he was touched up for six runs, seven hits, and two home runs in four-plus innings of a 12-1 loss to Toronto.
The Mets keep waiting for the emergence of a young star. The porch light is still on.
Even as Wheeler continues to struggle. He's 2-3 this season, with an earned run average of 5.03, and his career record is 23-26.
"Today wasn't pretty," said Callaway.
He was talking about more than his starting pitcher. The offense managed only four hits, struck out 12 times, and barely avoided another shutout as Brandon Nimmo homered with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Plus they played through a steady rain that prompted many of the 28,400 soggy City Field fans to leave early.
Not that the Mets have given the faithful much to get excited about lately. They have not won consecutive games since winning nine straight from April 3-13, part of their 11-1 start. After winning six of their first eight home games, they have dropped nine of their last 11, dating back to April 16.
"We have too much talent to stay like this," said Nimmo. "We haven't been able to have the pitching and hitting click at the same time."
The Mets seemingly have been waiting for Wheeler to click for a long time.
Callaway, a pitcher in his playing days, thinks Wheeler and pitching coach Dave Eiland need to figure out what's wrong.
They can start with pitch selection. Wheeler had Justin Smoak in an 0-2 hole in the first inning when he tried to throw a fastball by him. Smoak hit it over the center-field wall. In the fourth inning, he was up 0-1 on Teoscar Hernandez and again went to the fastball. Hernandez hit into the left field stands for a two-run homer that upped Toronto's lead to 3-0.
"My ball was running a lot today," Wheeler said. "The pitch to Smoak was supposed to be up and in, but it got too much of the plate."
Coming off a good performance in Cincinnati, Wheeler reverted to his inconsistent form.
"I've been inconsistent all season," he said. "I need to change that."
He admits his slider has been "crappy" all season and he's yet to master the throwing of the split finger fast ball.
Even the weather worked against him. Wheeler appeared out of sorts after an 18-minute delay in the bottom of the third inning so the grounds crew could work on the field.
"That affected him (Wheeler) and not their guy (J.A. Happ, who gave up two hits and struck out 10 in seven scoreless innings)," Callaway said. "He wasn't the same guy."
Just like the offense hasn't been the same since the surprising quick start to the season.
On the day Yoenis Cespedes was put on the 10-day disabled list and less than 24 hours after the offense broke out for 12 runs, the offense was feeble.
Center fielder Juan Lagares crashed into the centerfield wall making a fifth-inning catch and underwent X-rays on his left toe, which were negative.
Asked if he would be able to play against Arizona when the Mets resume their homestand Friday night, he answered: "I'll see how it goes tomorrow and go from there."
Nimmo, who played the field in the final three innings, said he wasn't surprised the game started on time, but, given the one-sided score, he was surprised it continued after it was an official game.
"There was a lot of water in the outfield," he said. "Splashes everywhere you ran."
And what about his eight-pitch at-bat that resulted in a home run when the Mets were one strike away from being shut out? "I'm never going to give an at-bat away," said Nimmo.
