I put in work and watch my status escalate: Phillies 4, Padres 0

Zack Wheeler did as Zack Wheeler does

Zack Wheeler, that’s the recap.

But in case you want a little more detail of what went down in the Phillies 4-0 win over the San Diego Padres, here goes:

The Phillies ace took the mound against the Padres and did to them what the Padres’ awful brown uniforms did to any sense of good fashion. (Seriously, I don’t know how anyone can like those monstrosities.)

Wheeler pitched eight shutout innings while striking out ten. The Padres had a few base runners here and there, but despite getting a few of them into scoring position, Wheeler never seemed especially threatened.

Of course, as we’ve seen in recent weeks, even if the Phillies’ pitcher is doing well, they still need the offense to contribute something. On Monday, the offense was a little stymied by Padres’ knuckleballer Matt Waldron but eventually contributed four runs of something.

They first got on the board in the second using some small ball when Max Kepler walked, advanced to third on a J.T. Realmuto single, and then scored on a Bryson Stott ground out.

The Phillies missed out on an opportunity for more runs in the third when Padres centerfielder Jackson Merrill timed his jump perfectly to rob Kepler of a three-run home run.

The Padres also made an excellent defensive play to end the fourth inning when first baseman Luis Arraez made a diving catch of a Bryce Harper (welcome back!) line drive and doubled Kyle Schwarber off first. But in between those plays, the Padres’ defense was ugly.

With one out in the fourth, Stott walked. Brandon Marsh followed with a grounder to first, but Waldron was late to cover the bag, allowing Marsh to beat it out. Meanwhile, Stott, seeing Waldron out of position, raced home with the team’s second run.

Despite the throw beating him, Marsh somehow avoided the tag and stole second base. He then advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an infield single by Trea Turner.

Another walk and wild pitch gave the Phillies runners on the corners, but the aforementioned double play prevented any more damage.

Undeterred, in the following inning, Nick Castellanos sent one of Waldron’s knuckleballs over the fence to establish the final score.

It was a solid start to the homestand for the Phillies, and they’ll look to secure the series win on Tuesday. Things will get a little easier for the Padres (simply because there’s only one Zack Wheeler), but they won’t be that much easier because the Phillies will have Cristopher Sanchez on the mound, and he’s having an outstanding season in his own right.