Zack Wheeler is finally brilliant in Mets’ beat down of Cubs

CHICAGO — These are the days the Mets are left to wonder how Zack Wheeler is anything less than an elite pitcher.

There is plowing through a talented lineup, and then there is the manner Wheeler dismembered the Cubs on Saturday, as the Mets were turning the Friendly Confines into a launch pad.

In a near-perfect performance, the Mets stomped the Cubs 10-2 at Wrigley Field for a second straight victory. And they will have ace Jacob deGrom on the mound Sunday as they pursue a series win.

Wheeler (6-5) rebounded from a string of uninspiring starts by allowing one run over seven dominant innings that spanned 94 pitches. The right-hander got on a roll beginning in the second inning and retired 15 straight batters before Willson Contreras singled leading off the seventh.

Meanwhile, Pete Alonso, Todd Frazier and Wilson Ramos all homered against Jose Quintana, allowing Wheeler a largely stress-free afternoon.

Over his previous seven starts Wheeler had allowed 11 homers, but good swings were tough to find against him Saturday. His only real work came in the first two innings, in each of which the Cubs put two runners on base. But Wheeler got Javier Baez to hit into a double play in the first inning and retired three straight batters after Jeff McNeil’s fielding error in the second.

In the seventh, the Cubs loaded the bases with nobody out, but Wheeler got Victor Caratini to hit into a double play for his only run allowed.

Wheeler had surrendered at least three earned runs in each of his previous seven starts. That included consecutive clunkers against the Yankees and Braves heading into Saturday that had raised his ERA to 4.94. That number dipped to 4.69 with his handling of the Cubs, still the highest among Mets starting pitchers.

Alonso blasted a full-count hanging curve in the first inning for his 26th homer, which tied Darryl Strawberry’s franchise rookie record. In addition, Alonso became the first rookie in National League history with at least 26 homers before the All-Star break. Mark McGwire holds the MLB rookie record with 33 homers before the All-Star break in 1987.

Ramos’ two-run homer in the fifth put the Mets on Easy Street with a 9-0 lead. Michael Conforto had delivered an RBI single earlier in the inning that put the Mets up by a touchdown and extra point.

Frazier hit a two-run homer in the third inning that gave the Mets a 5-0 lead. An inning earlier McNeil stroked a two-run single with two outs, after Ramos had walked and Amed Rosario doubled in the inning.

The sizzling McNeil returned with an RBI double in the fifth. It gave McNeil three RBIs in consecutive games for the first time in his career. A day earlier McNeil had blasted a two-run homer and delivered a go-ahead RBI single to help the Mets beat the Cubs.

The Mets (37-40) have not won a road series since sweeping the Marlins in early April, but will have that chance on Sunday against a team that leads the NL Central.

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