ATLANTA — We now return you to your regularly scheduled schlock.
Super Tuesday was everything the Mets could have wanted, with Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler dominating the Braves in a doubleheader sweep, but then came Wednesday and the almost inevitable crash to earth.
Shaun Marcum disintegrated in the middle innings against the Braves, sending the Mets to a 5-3 loss at Turner Field that reminded everyone it’s still 2013 and this team has significant holes.
Marcum (0-9) became the first Mets pitcher to lose his first nine decisions in a season since Anthony Young started 0-13 in 1993. The only other pitcher in franchise history to lose as many as nine straight decisions to start a season was Bob Miller, who began 0-12 in 1962.
With manager Terry Collins contemplating who should be bumped from his six-man rotation, Marcum certainly has emerged as a consideration. The right-hander followed a dud against the Cubs last Friday by allowing five earned runs on six hits and four walks over 4²/₃ innings Wednesday.
Collins continues to dance around the subject of his rotation. The plan calls for using a six-man rotation at least through the weekend. Dillon Gee, Jeremy Hefner and Marcum are the candidates for two spots behind Harvey, Wheeler and Jon Niese.
“You’ve got to take the five best starters, the guys you think are going to be the five best guys,” Collins said. “Certainly one of them has to slide to the bullpen, and if you can’t do it, then you have to make some other arrangements.”
Kris Medlen (4-7) limited the Mets to six hits over seven-plus innings and allowed three runs, two of which were unearned.
Marcum’s wild pitch in the fifth allowed Jordan Schafer to score from third, giving the Braves a 4-3 lead before B.J. Upton’s RBI double produced another run.
The Mets had tied the game with three runs in the fifth, using a Medlen throwing error as the catalyst for the inning. With runners on first and second, John Buck hit a comebacker, which Medlen threw away in his attempt to nail lead runner Marlon Byrd at third base. Byrd and Lucas Duda both scored on the play and Kirk Nieuwenhuis’ ensuing RBI single made it 3-3.
Chris Johnson’s three-run homer in the fourth against Marcum gave the Braves a 3-0 lead. Marcum allowed consecutive singles to Upton and Dan Uggla with two outs before Johnson cleared the left-field fence for his fourth homer this season.
Wheeler will rejoin the Mets soon enough — he is scheduled to hop on a flight to Chicago on Monday and take the ball against the White Sox the following night — but until then Collins wants the rookie pitcher to remain diligent.
The right-hander was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas following his major league debut on Tuesday as a procedural move, giving the Mets added roster flexibility through the weekend. Wheeler had joined the team as a 26th man afforded by the fact the Mets and Braves played a doubleheader.
Wheeler traveled to Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday to join the Las Vegas team.
“One of the things I told him [Tuesday] night was, ‘You’ve got to make sure you don’t skip your work,’ ” Collins said. “ ‘You’ve got to do what you have to do to make sure you’re ready.’ ”
Wheeler, who fired six shutout innings against the Braves, is expected to throw a side session within the next two days. Because he will be making his next start on six days’ rest, he may add another throwing session over the weekend.