Zack Wheeler’s Monday night in Miami was the kind of outing that can make a great season look messy in a hurry.
The Philadelphia Phillies right-hander came in with numbers that point to what might be the best year of his career. He’s sitting on career-high marks in earned run average and WHIP, and that’s coming only months after surgery tied to a blood clot and a diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome.
None of that mattered much once he took the ball against the Marlins.
Wheeler opened the bottom of the first by allowing a single to Otto Lopez, who later scored after stealing second base. On Wheeler’s very next pitch, Heriberto Hernández launched a solo homer. A two-run blast from the struggling Bryce Harper in the top of the first was immediately erased, and the game was tied 2-2.
The trouble didn’t stop there. Wheeler gave up a home run, a double and a triple in the second inning, then lasted only three innings in an 8-7 loss after allowing five runs.
He pushed back on the idea that his health was behind the rough night, according to The Athletic.
“Just one of those games,” said Wheeler, who allowed five runs in those three innings Monday. “One of these days.
It just wasn’t coming out. I don’t know.
No excuse, just a bad game.”
Interim manager Don Mattingly said Wheeler had a case of nausea, but Wheeler said it didn’t change what happened on the mound.
“I mean, that didn’t really affect me out there,” Wheeler said. “The ball just wasn’t coming out like I wanted it to.
My body wasn’t moving like I wanted it to. I was trying to get through it.
Some games I can. Just today, I couldn’t.”
Even after Wheeler’s short start, Philadelphia still had a path to a win. Alec Bohm, J.T. Realmuto and Justin Crawford combined for four RBIs in the top of the sixth, and Realmuto added a sacrifice fly in the eighth to put the Phillies in front 7-5.
Then the bullpen let it slip away.
Jhoan Duran entered to finish it in the ninth and instead gave up a two-RBI single to Hernández, followed by the game-ending single from Griffin Conine. The finish underscored a roster that looks stretched thin, especially on the pitching side.
Wheeler and Cristopher Sanchez are both delivering strong seasons, while Harper and Kyle Schwarber remain major threats at the plate. But the Phillies could still use another impact starter, more bullpen help, outfield support and a right-handed bat.
Now they’re six games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East, and with the Aug. 3 Major League Baseball trade deadline closing in, the pressure is only getting heavier.
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