The Philadelphia Phillies have named Zack Wheeler as their Opening Day starter. He is getting the nod in the season opener for the second consecutive year. The Phillies open the regular season on the road against the National League East rival Washington Nationals on March 27. This will be Wheeler’s second career Opening Day start, as he did not make any while on the New York Mets. MacKenzie Gore will start for the Nationals.
This will be the second time overall the Phillies have opened up the season at Nationals Park, and the first since the 2010 season. Additionally, the Phillies and Nationals faced off to start the regular season at Citizens Bank Park in 2005 and 2008.
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Phillies Name Zack Wheeler Opening Day Starter for Second Straight Year
Wheeler will become the 25th different pitcher to start the first regular season game multiple times for the Phillies. Steve Carlton holds the team record with 14 Opening Day starts. Aaron Nola previously made six such starts from 2018 through 2023. Wheeler saw a no decision in last year’s start in a 9-3 Phillies home loss to the Atlanta Braves. 2017 against the Cincinnati Reds with Jeremy Hellickson starting marks the last time the Phillies won a season opener on the road. They have started the season on the road only twice since then.
In 32 starts last season, Wheeler had a 16-7 record with a 2.57 ERA and 224 strikeouts, along with a 3.13 FIP and a 62 ERA-. He had an excellent NL Cy Young Award case, but came up just short behind Chris Sale. Wheeler recorded a 28.5% strikeout rate and a 6.6% walk rate last season, and he led the majors with 26 quality starts. He also had the third-best fWAR, ERA, WHIP, and WPA, tied for the third most strikeouts, and had the second-best batting average against among qualified starting pitchers in 2024.
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