Call it rust, call it jitters or maybe he just doesn't have it anymore, but whatever the case Washington Nationals starter Chien-Ming Wang would love to have back the first inning he pitched in the big leagues in two years. The New York Mets teed off on Wang and pounded him for a 4-0 lead against Washington-- all in the first inning.
Wang faced Jose Reyes in his first at-bat after recovering from shoulder surgery and issued four straight sinkers for four straight balls. The next four batters reached base via singles. Wang did not record his first out until the sixth batter, Jason Bay grounded out, but the Mets scored anyway. Lucas Duda flied out into a double play, but the Mets scored again and the damage had been done. It took Wang 25 pitches to get out of the first inning. The Mets enjoyed a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the first frame.
Not a great start to Wang's return to MLB play and not a good sign for the Nationals to finally break their losing streak.