CHICAGO _ His bags packed and his mind ready to move, Zack Wheeler spent most of the past few weeks figuring he'd be pitching for another team come August. He is a pending free agent, the Mets looked like trade-deadline sellers, and trade-deadline sellers typically trade their pending free agents. It seemed inevitable.
And then 4 p.m. Wednesday came and went, bringing Wheeler clarity _ just not the kind he expected. There was no trade. He is staying with the Mets the next two months and maybe beyond. He was glad all that was over, he admitted, so that he could get back to pitching.
As the Mets topped the White Sox, 4-0, on Thursday, Wheeler got back to dominating, too. He tossed seven shutout innings, striking out seven and walking none, in the Mets' seventh consecutive win.
Almost everything is going well right now for the Mets, who have been beating up on bad teams _ Padres, Pirates, White Sox _ to move within four games of a National League wild-card spot. They have seven more games against bad teams, three with the Pirates in Pittsburgh this weekend and four with the Marlins at Citi Field next week, before the schedule gets more difficult.
Wheeler's gem and scoreless relief outings from Luis Avilan and Jeurys Familia improved the Mets' second-half ERA to 2.56, best in the majors. Robinson Cano, the slumping cleanup hitter, went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Amed Rosario, defensively challenged early this year, made several noteworthy plays, including a pair of diving stops of grounders up the middle (one of which started an inning-ending double play in the eighth).
In his first scoreless game since April 23, Wheeler (4.45 ERA) scattered five hits, none until there were two outs in the fourth. Jose Abreu's line drive glanced off the glove of a diving Rosario for a single. Manager Mickey Callaway lifted Wheeler after 88 pitches, a normal bump from his 73 last start, his first back from the injured list.
White Sox righthander Dylan Cease, ranked as the No. 25 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, allowed four runs in seven innings, the longest of his five major-league starts. He was cruising most of the afternoon _ the Mets scored only on Cano's homer in the second _ but had trouble in the sixth.
Adeiny Hechavarria (walk) and Jeff McNeil (bloop single) reached base to open the frame, and with two outs Cano lined an RBI double to the wall in rightfield. Wilson Ramos grounded a run-scoring single through the right side and a second run scored on an error by catcher Welington Castillo to double the Mets' lead.
