PHILADELPHIA — In his last start, on April 18 in Chicago, Zack Wheeler no-hit the White Sox through his first two innings, only to allow four runs on six soft hits in the third.
Wheeler later said that he felt some tightness in his back, but didn’t feel that there was much cause for concern. He got treatment in between innings and was able to pitch through the fifth. That context seemed relevant on Sunday, when a similar scene unfolded in the Phillies’ 9-3 win over the Rockies.
Wheeler allowed just one walk through his first three innings against Colorado. He struck out seven of the 10 batters he faced, matching his season-high strikeout record well before his day was over. But again, things spiraled about halfway through his outing.
In the top of the fourth inning, Wheeler quickly loaded the bases, giving up two softly-hit singles and a walk. He induced a strikeout, but allowed a run after hitting Yonathan Daza, and allowed two more after Harold Castro hit a sac fly and Ezequiel Tovar hit an RBI single.
In all, Wheeler allowed three earned runs in his 31-pitch fourth inning. He bounced back to pitch the fifth and the sixth innings, allowing just one walk over that span. But overall, it was an uncharacteristic outing for him.
Despite that, Wheeler did induce 23 swings and misses — setting a new season high mark for Phillies’ pitchers. He earned his 17th career double-digit strikeout, after striking out 11 of the 25 batters he faced. But he is struggling to carry momentum throughout his entire outing, which is making it difficult for him to pitch deeper into games.
Phillies love the long ball
Entering Sunday’s game, the Phillies hit 19 home runs through their first 21 games. On Saturday they hit three home runs, and on Sunday they hit four — combining for 1/3 of the home runs they’d hit all season in just two games.
Many of their home runs haven’t come from the usual suspects. On Saturday, Nick Castellanos, who hadn’t hit a home run since Aug. 27, 2022, hit two, and Cristian Pache hit one. On Sunday, Trea Turner led things off with a solo shot to left center field, his second of the year.
Kody Clemens, who entered the game with a .063 slugging percentage, hit his first home run as a Phillie in the bottom of the third inning. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Bryson Stott hit his second home run of the season — a two-run shot to right field. In the bottom of the eighth, Brandon Marsh hit his fourth home run of the season. Half of the Phillies eight hits on Sunday left the yard.
“And the walks, too,” manager Rob Thomson said. “We had five walks, four home runs. That’s going to create runs, for the most part. I thought we swung the bats well. We had good at-bats against [Rockies starter José] Ureña. Made him work. And once we got the lead, we added on, which was huge.”
Alvarado dominant again
José Alvarado entered the game in the eighth inning. He struck out Ryan McMahon, induced a groundout from C.J. Cron, allowed a single to Mike Moustakas, and struck out Alan Trejo to end the inning.
Alvarado -— who was sent to the minor leagues last May for his command issues — has not allowed a regular-season walk since Sept. 21. Of the 55 batters he’s faced since then, he has struck out 32 (58.2%).
