The Braves-Phillies stretch was always going to come with some edge, and Saturday delivered another flash point. Atlanta already holds a solid lead in the NL East, but with the clubs scheduled to meet seven times in their next 10 games, the temperature was never going to stay low for long.
After the Phillies won, Zack Wheeler was asked about Ronald Acuña Jr.’s home run trot following a blast against him, and the veteran right-hander used the moment to take a shot at Acuña Jr. in a way that came off both petty and wildly off base.
"It's up to him to do what he wants. Our guy just rounds the bases that hits 50 here."
Zack Wheeler isn't big on home run celebrations. | @WapnerNewman pic.twitter.com/8m96qh7RIz
- NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) September 6, 2026
Acuña Jr. didn’t do anything out of nowhere. He launched a huge homer in a game with a playoff-style feel, then went into the bird flap celebration that Braves players have been using all season.
He also added his familiar stutter-step near third base, a move tied to Miguel Cabrera that Acuña Jr. has been working on for years. Wheeler still chose that moment to compare him to Kyle Schwarber, saying Schwarber “just rounds the bases” after his own homers.
That’s where the whole thing started to fall apart. Wheeler’s comments didn’t just read like a complaint about Acuña Jr.; they came with a level of self-righteousness that ignored how his own team operates. Schwarber and Bryce Harper are not exactly strangers to home run theatrics, and acting otherwise only makes the gripe look thinner.
The reaction also fits a broader pattern with Wheeler. His disappointment after not making the All-Star Game this year, followed by declining the invitation, already carried the kind of pouty energy that was hard to miss. Put that alongside the Phillies’ old-school leanings under Don Mattingly, and this latest complaint feels less surprising than revealing.
At the end of the day, there’s nothing wrong with celebrating a big swing in a big game. Acuña Jr. did exactly that, and the Braves have made that style part of their identity all year. Wheeler and the Phillies, meanwhile, seem more interested in talking about it than matching the energy.
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