Zack Wheeler and the bullpen made sure the Phillies’ losing streak didn’t reach three.
You can’t win them all, so, it wasn’t too alarming when the Phillies turned in a stinker of a performance on Tuesday, ending their seven-game winning streak. But after another poor performance on Wednesday night, there was concern that the Phillies might follow that winning streak with an extended losing one.
Having a pitcher like Zack Wheeler on the staff helps prevent things like that from happening. Wheeler pitched six shutout innings, the offense and bullpen did their part, and the Phillies got back on the winning side with a 5-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
Neither side did much for the first two innings, but the Phillies’ bats started producing in the third. Nick Castellanos led off with a single and was brought home by a Bryson Stott triple. Stott came home on a Kyle Schwarber sacrifice fly, and after a double by Trea Turner, Bryce Harper announced his return from paternity leave.
DAD STRENGTH#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/DOOGe8KhCk
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 25, 2024
It looked like the Reds were going to answer right back. Wheeler’s control suddenly abandoned him in the bottom of the third, and after a single and two walks, the Reds had the bases loaded with two outs. Wheeler and Spencer Steer engaged in a nine-pitch battle that thankfully ended with Castellanos making a tough catch in right field.
How Nick Castellanos’ catch sounded on Reds TV pic.twitter.com/zENlWGsj87
— Nick Piccone (@_piccone) April 25, 2024
I’m not sure what happened to Wheeler that inning. He threw 16 balls out of the strike zone, which is usually about a game’s worth for him. But he quickly reverted to form, retiring the next six batters. He did walk two more in the sixth but worked around that by inducing a double play.
The Phillies added another run in the sixth courtesy of a Brandon Marsh single, stolen base, followed by an RBI single by Stott.
That was it for scoring on the day. Orion Kerkering pitched a clean seventh, and after walking two in the eighth, Jeff Hoffman was able to close out the inning and then pitched a scoreless ninth to end the game.
With the win, the Phillies can enjoy their flight to San Diego where they will take on the Padres in a three-game series this weekend. And for many of the city’s sports fans, it’s a pleasant start to a big day that includes a Sixers playoff game and the NFL draft. Hopefully those events go as well as this game did.