Mets Find Their Footing After the Marlins End Wheeler's No-Hit Bid Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images The Mets' Zack Wheeler threw no-hit ball for six and a third innings against the Marlins but ultimately did not get a decision. MIAMI - Near no-hitters tend not to be remembered. But compile enough over time, and a notable pattern may begin to emerge. From each fragment, a meaningful picture can be shaped. Zack Wheeler held the Miami Marlins hitless into the seventh inning Tuesday night, imbuing a brief, breathless aura around Marlins Park, before the Mets scratched out a 4-2 victory in 10 innings. Besides its importance to the Mets" current state - it was their second straight victory over the Marlins, their pesky foil this year - Wheeler's outing augured more positivity for the Mets" future. As a franchise, the Mets still possess only one no-hitter: Johan Santana's 134-pitch gem from last year. But what their staff has done this season may hold more practical significance, more competitive meaning than Santana's one-off performance. On five occasions now this season, a Mets starter has carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Matt Harvey, 24, has done it three times, and Dillon Gee, 27, has done it once. Wheeler, 23, added his name to the list Tuesday, producing what was his best start since his June 18 debut. For a club that has tied its destiny to a young, unproven pitching staff, these brief glimpses of dominance - particularly from Harvey and Wheeler, both long-heralded prospects - become moments to savor. "We've seen a few other ones like that this year, but that might have been about as dominant a performance through six innings I've seen all year from anybody," Manager Terry Collins said. We're trying to build this thing up and give people something to root for and be excited about. If the performance so far of Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler and, really, a lot of guys in that pitching staff, if that's not an indication of what's coming, they're going to be real surprised. Wheeler pitched seven innings, allowing two runs, three hits and three walks while striking out five. He lowered his earned run average to 3.55. Perhaps most encouraging, he threw 87 pitches and 64 strikes. Wheeler has felt some growing pains upon his promotion. He has acknowledged command issues from the get-go. His coaches revealed early on that he was tipping his pitches. His mechanics never seemed quite right. And still, Wheeler was highly effective. He entered Tuesday's game with a 4-1 record and 3.72 earned run average. That he could struggle superficially and still get results was a testament to his preternatural stuff, his coaches said. It was evidence that the hype that enveloped him from year to year through the minor leagues was not frivolous. Wheeler's raw talent and growing refinement were on display at Marlins Park. He kept on attacking the strike zone and needed only 60 pitches to get through the first five innings. He used six more to get through the sixth. "I felt smooth throughout my mechanics, rhythm was good, good tempo in between pitches, everything was just clicking well and I was hitting my spots," said Wheeler, who admitted he got away with a few mistakes, too. Sweat glistened beneath his cap, pulled low over his eyes, and he worked quickly, playing off the Marlins aggressiveness. He popped fastballs into catcher John Buck's glove at 97 miles per hour, spun sliders home at 87 and flipped a few curveballs at 77. The Marlins hacked and missed these pitches that dipped and swerved. "Once he got comfortable, it was a loose 96, 97, with some run, just easy cheese," Buck said of Wheeler's fastball. He's a lot of ankles and elbows flinging around. He's very deceptive and funky with the ball. He hides it well. The no-hitter was broken up in the seventh, when Ed Lucas punched a 95-m.p.h. fastball into right field for a one-out single. The hit seemed to unnerve Wheeler for a spell, as he gave up two straight hits after that, allowing the Marlins to tie the game, 2-2. Once the no-hit bid was denied, the Mets" victory was suddenly at risk, too. While Wheeler worked, the Mets hitters were mostly fumbling about against Nathan Eovaldi, who pitched six innings. Center fielder Juan Lagares's two-run, fourth-inning triple accounted for the Mets" only runs against him. The teams played a 20-inning game earlier this year, but the resolution was fairly quick Tuesday night. David Wright and Marlon Byrd hit consecutive singles to right field, and Ike Davis walked, as the Mets loaded the bases off Steve Cishek to start the 10th. And then Buck, facing his former team, shot a two-run single through the infield, clapping his hands twice, hard, once he got to first base. It was an emotional boon for the Mets, who improved to 5-8 against the last-place Marlins. But the night would probably have been perceived as a positive one, anyway, for the glowing light it cast upon the Mets" future.