PHILADELPHIA — You had to forgive Zack Wheeler for feeling a little uncomfortable. It’s not like he’s been in this position often.
As a point of fact, which also served as a challenge to Wheeler’s 35-year-old powers of recall, it’s not like he’s used to throwing these complete game things. Aren’t they something you usually have to refer to Google for now?
“I know it’s been a while since I had one,” Wheeler said in the aftermath of an absolutely brilliant, nine-inning, one-hit, zero-walk, 12-strikeout work of art and 3-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park.
Told it had been since 2021, he said, “I knew I hadn’t gotten one in a while. Nice to get one.”
It was so nice a sold-out Citizens Bank Park decided to join in on the party.
That was all of them chanting Wheeler’s name all through a ninth inning in which he’d entered already having thrown 100 pitches. The chants evolved into a roar after Wheeler cruised through a straight-set ninth, getting the last three outs on eight pitches and touching 98 mph in the process.
“Awesome. Just incredible, a testament to who he’s been with us for the last five or six years,” said longtime Wheeler catcher J.T. Realmuto. “He’s so consistent. Being able to see him step on the gas there at the end, especially with how hot it was out there today. We were all pretty exhausted and he seemed to get stronger as the game went. It was very impressive to see that.”
Indeed, Wheeler, whose lone slip of dominant aura came in letting a fastball drift over the plate to former teammate Austin Hays in the fifth inning for a home run and short-lived Reds lead, seemed only to gain strength in the hot and humid conditions in the ninth inning. Maybe that thunderous chant raining down had something to do with it.
“That was very cool,” said the usually laid-back Wheeler. “It almost felt like a playoff vibe and that got me through that. It was very cool. That’s why it’s awesome to play here in Philly.
“I haven’t thrown that many complete games, so that’s a plus. And I don’t know how many hits I’ve let up in those. There’s been some other satisfying ones along the way, but yeah, today was right up there.”
Those fans have been around long enough to know that when a pitcher goes out to finish off a game in the ninth after already having thrown a 100th pitch, it’s something to shout about.
“Oh yeah, he was going back out,” manager Rob Thomson said. “He still had his stuff in the eighth. I mean, he was just dominant. I wouldn’t have taken him out until 115 pitches.”
Realmuto remarked that while the fans were roaring after the third out, he shared a handshake and hug with Wheeler, then turned to get into the usual position for the victory hand-slap with his teammates at the mound.
Except Wheeler isn’t usually in on that.
“We got to the mound and he turned around and asked me, ‘What do we do out here?’ ” Realmuto said. “It was a funny little moment, but it was cool to experience that with him.”
It was almost perfect timing in that Wheeler, before improving to 9-3 with a 2.17 ERA, 148 strikeouts and 0.84 WHIP, was told before the game that he’d been selected to his second-straight All-Star Game, and third in his career.
Despite the success of his fellow starters Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez this season, and despite the fact that Trea Turner was leading the league in hits, Wheeler and Kyle Schwarber are currently the only Phillies All-Stars.
For Wheeler, however, this win was almost a campaign speech to be the starting pitcher for the National League when the game is played on July 15.
“It would be really cool. It’d be an honor, for sure,” Wheeler said.
He just wishes he had some familiar company joining him.
“There’s a lot of good starters across the NL right now,” he said. “So credit to them, but we’ve got an All Star staff, I think, ourselves.”
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Wheeler was the story of the game but wouldn’t have won his ninth if it weren’t for recently struggling Bryson Stott’s change of swing.
While his manager recently pointed out Stott was again upper-cutting a bit of late, the way he jumped on a pitch by Reds reliever Tony Santillan in the bottom of the eighth was no can-of-corn kind of swing.
Stott rocketed the ball to right, off the scoreboard, good for a two-run home run that gave the Phillies their 3-1 lead and gave Wheeler the chance to close out a victory.
“It was huge. I think that’ll help him a lot,” Thomson said of Stott. “We had so many chances (to score) today. We have to put the ball in play … you can’t strike out at the rate we did today.”
The Phillies stranded 10 baserunners on Sunday.
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NOTES >> It was the fourth time Wheeler struck out double-digit batters in consecutive starts in his career. It was his fifth career complete game. … Phils start a three-game set in San Francisco Monday night, with Sanchez (7-2, 2.68) taking the hill. … Suarez on Saturday night, before being passed over: “Obviously, every time a season starts, that’s one of the things you want to do, go to the All-Star Game. But we hope so. If they say yes, then so be it.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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