ATLANTA — Phillies starter Zack Wheeler was cruising until the sixth inning against the Braves in Game 2 of the National League Division Series on Wednesday night. After allowing one base runner through his first five, on just 50 pitches, Wheeler struck out Marcell Ozuna, induced a lineout from Eddie Rosario, but then hit Ronald Acuña Jr. with a slider.
Acuña was checked out by the trainers for several minutes. Boos, coming from a sold-out crowd that returned to Truist Park after a two-hour, 53-minute rain delay, poured down on Wheeler. While Acuña was leading off first base, Wheeler threw over to Rhys Hoskins to try to pick him off. More boos poured down.
It all unraveled after that as the Braves evened the series 1-1 with a 3-0 victory over the Phillies. Wheeler walked Dansby Swanson to put runners on first and second. Matt Olson hit a single to right field that whizzed past first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who missed it in between hops. Acuña scored.
