With Wheeler Shaky, the Mets Show Life but Ultimately Fall Short Chicago's Tyler Flowers, who reached base when he was hit by a pitch by Zach Wheeler, beating the tag of John Buck to score in the fifth. Flowers also hit a homer. CHICAGO - After Zack Wheeler's first start last week, the Mets were cataloging all the exciting things they had seen. After his second one Tuesday night, they were listing the things they hoped to see him improve upon. Wheeler, a 23-year-old rookie right-hander, struggled to his control his fastball Tuesday night and failed to make it through the sixth inning. The Mets, meanwhile, wasted a surprising ninth-inning comeback and watched the White Sox celebrate a 5-4 walk-off win. Asked to compare his second start with his first, when he pitched six scoreless innings against the Atlanta Braves, Wheeler was blunt: "Bad," he said. I didn't throw a lot of strikes, and when I did, they were bad strikes. The balls were up. The only thing I really had working for me was my curveball today. Such will be the process ahead for Wheeler, who could be a mainstay for years to come, assuming he grows each outing, good or bad. He pitched five and a third innings, allowing four runs, four hits and three walks, and struck out one batter. He threw a wild pitch and hit a batter during the White Sox" fifth-inning rally. "Everybody goes over some bumps," Wheeler said. I've been struggling with my command lately, and you really can't do that up here, so I've got a lot of work to do. The Mets showed late life, entering the ninth behind one run, tying the game on a bizarre play that unfurled as the final out hovered above the infield. Addison Reed induced a two-out pop-up from the pinch-hitter Daniel Murphy. But as David Wright sprinted home from second, three White Sox players converged before the mound. Second baseman Gordon Beckham made an attempt to catch the ball, but only after he bumped into Reed, and it glanced off his glove, extending the game. The play immediately invoked the infamous 2009 flub by Luis Castillo at Yankee Stadium, where he dropped a two-out popup by Alex Rodriguez that allowed the Yankees to score two runs to win in the bottom of the ninth. But the Mets lost this time, too, when the White Sox struck right back in the bottom of the inning against LaTroy Hawkins. Jeff Keppinger hit a leadoff single up the middle. After an error by Hawkins, a fielder's choice and popout, Alexei Ramirez ripped a single down the left-field line, sending fireworks exploding. It was disheartening for the Mets, who arrived on a small high after having won their last two series, against the Braves and Phillies. Manager Terry Collins said Dan Warthen, the pitching coach, was already cataloging things for Wheeler to work on before his next scheduled start, Sunday at Citi Field. It included sharpening his slider, adjusting his arm angles, and possibly adding a slide step when men are on base. "But you've got to like what you see," Collins added. Gosh, he's got a live arm. Wheeler was overshadowed by the left-hander Chris Sale, who struck out 13 and allowed 4 hits over eight solid innings. The Mets jumped ahead against Sale, showing verve on the basepaths. Eric Young Jr. doubled to open the game, stole third base and was soon sliding headfirst into home to score on a shallow sacrifice fly. Later that inning, Wright walked, stole second and scored from there when Josh Satin rolled a soft single to center. Thunder clattered and lighting flashed through the game beyond the stadium's eastern end, above Lake Michigan, but the rain never intensified. Wheeler meanwhile worked briskly, picking up a rhythm but often dropping it, his fastball sailing high from his hand. Wheeler allowed an infield single to Alejandro De Aza to begin his outing, and De Aza advanced around the bases to score on a stolen base and two straight groundouts. Two innings later, Wheeler hung a slider to Tyler Flowers, the No. 9 hitter, who blasted it over the center-field wall, an estimated 392 feet from home plate, to tie the score at 2-2. Sale retired 10 straight Mets at one point, racking up nine strikeouts through the first four innings. But Andrew Brown, the designated hitter, broke the streak and put his team ahead, 3-2, when he lifted a solo home run to right field to start the fifth. But Wheeler surrendered the lead during a wild fifth. He allowed a single and hit a batter to start the inning and then bounced a wild pitch to put the runners on second and third. The White Sox pushed them across on a groundout and sacrifice fly to go ahead, 4-3. It was a rocky start for Wheeler, one that provided a lengthy to-do list for the future. The Mets traded outfielder Collin Cowgill to the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday for Kyle Johnson, a 23-year-old minor league outfielder. Cowgill, 27, who played 23 games for the Mets this year and batted .180, was designated for assignment June 18. Johnson will start out in Class A.