TORONTO — If there was ever a game to illustrate just how thin the margins are for this Phillies team, it was their 8-2 loss on Wednesday night. They had their ace on the mound in Zack Wheeler, who stepped into Rogers Centre with a 2.46 ERA. By the time he exited in the fifth inning, that ERA had risen to 2.89.
After using a bullpen game Tuesday, the Phillies were banking on Wheeler to go deep. And they had good reason to expect that he would. Wheeler has pitched six innings or more in 11 of his 17 outings this year. Not only has he been a workhorse, but he’s been dominant; Wheeler allowed only eight earned runs in 29 2/3 innings in the month of June, for a 2.43 ERA. He was even better in the month of May, pitching to the tune of a 1.65 ERA.
It’s hard to keep track of all of the setbacks the Phillies have encountered of late. Starting pitchers Ranger Suárez and Zach Eflin are on the injured list, and there isn’t much depth behind them to draw upon. The Phillies are missing four infielders due to injuries: Jean Segura, Nick Maton, Johan Camargo and, most recently, Alec Bohm, who dislocated a finger in St. Louis. Bohm and Camargo could rejoin the team on Friday, but the loss of Segura still stings quite a bit, especially at a time when the bats are quiet.
