A 2-4 homestand isn’t exactly a reason for excitement, but it’s a hell of a lot better than a 1-5 homestand, something the Phillies managed to avoid on Sunday afternoon with a 6-2 victory over the Red Sox.

They can primarily thank Zack Wheeler and Brad Miller for that.

In a game they had to have, one played with a struggling Bryce Harper down for the day, it was Harper’s replacement in right field that helped ensure they would get the much-needed win.

Following a nice piece of hitting from Rhys Hoskins, who plated the game’s first run by slapping a single through a vacated right side, Brad Miller broke the game open early with a three-run blast that banged off the left field foul pole.

Another Statement Game From Zack Wheeler

Despite some late insurance runs provided by Odúbel Herrera, Miller’s homer would provide more than enough cushion for Wheeler, who through 10 starts has clearly asserted himself as the team’s best starting pitcher.


A hot take? An overreaction? A shot at Aaron Nola?

No, not at all. Just check out how his numbers stack up against the rest of the rotation after he worked 7 1/3 innings while yielding just three hits and one run:

  • 2.38 ERA (1st)
  • .206 OPP BA (1st)
  • 0.94 WHIP (1st)
  • 78 strikeouts (1st)
  • 68 IP (1st)

Really, it’s not just that he went out and spun a gem, it’s the way he did it — with an overpowering I’m better than you are and I know it type of aggressiveness. He generated 21 whiffs on 57 Boston swings (37%).

“I thought his fastball was outstanding today, and he had the good slider,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said after the game. “He actually three some pretty good curveballs, too. Again, he kept his pitch count down on a very hot day and just was aggressive and was ahead all day.”

And don’t overlook the context in which he delivered such a performance.

With the Phillies’ mired in a four-game losing streak and his teammates unable to make key plays in recent days, it was Wheeler who delivered the enough is enough game, serving as a stopper of the team’s run of woeful play.

Wheeler opened the game by pounding the strike zone with 28 of his first 35 pitches, quickly racking up five strikeouts over his first three innings of work. He followed the hot start earlier by continuing to pound the zone, with 14 of his next 19 pitches going for strikes, adding another three strikeouts to his total through five innings.

After allowing a cheap single on a wind-aided fly ball to right field that fell in front of Brad Miller to open the game, Wheeler responded by mowing through 17 consecutive Red Sox hitters. He didn’t allow another hit until the sixth inning when Kike Hernandez singled with two outs.

He would rebound to quickly extinguish the minor Red Sox threat by blowing a 97.5 MPH fastball by Rafael Devers to end the frame with his ninth strikeout of the day.

His true lone mistake came in the eighth when Franchy Cordero launched a mammoth 474-foot home run to right field.

The drive left his bat at a staggering 118.6 MPH, which, according to MLB Statcast, is the hardest hit ball by a member of the Red Sox dating all the way back to the 2015 season.

That minor hiccup aside, Wheeler has elevated his game to a place that puts him firmly among the National League’s best starting pitchers this season.

According to Baseball Reference, Wheeler entered the day third among NL starting pitchers in WAR, behind only Brandon Woodruff and Kevin Gausman.

The power arm has always been there for Wheeler, but he’s currently throwing his four-seam fastball (97.2 mph), sinker (96.8 mph), and slider (91.2 mph) with career-best velocity, helping skyrocket his K/9 from 6.72 a season ago to an eye-popping 10.32 this season.

In fact, Wheeler recorded just 53 strikeouts in 71 IP a year ago. This season, he has already struck out 78 batters in 68 IP. That’s 25 more strikeouts in three less innings pitched.

“Honestly, I don’t know that answer, I’m just throwing like I normally have,” Wheeler said after the game. “I think my ball is a little more true this year. I’m a little more behind it, so maybe the spin rate — I don’t even pay attention to that stuff — but maybe that’s up a little bit, so it plays up a bit more.”

Indeed, Wheeler’s spin rate is up this season, and so are his strikeout numbers.

Entering 2021, Wheeler recorded just eight double-digit strikeout performances over 137 career starts. By tying a career-best 12 strikeouts on Sunday against Boston, Wheeler turned in his third double-digit strikeout game in just 10 starts this season.

As Memorial Day Weekend nears, Wheeler has worked his way onto the short list of National League Cy Young candidates.

Non-Wheeler Notes

  • Herrera has always been known as a streaky hitter, and right now, he’s scorching hot. He reached base four more times on Sunday afternoon, bringing his season average to .284 with a .785 OPS. Since May 11, Herrera is hitting .390 (16-for-41) with a .480 on-base percentage.

 

  • Last year, Rhys Hoskins was often too patient. This year, he has often not been patient enough. Perhaps he’s finally finding some balance after drawing four walks over the three-game set with Boston. This is a notable development given he walked just six times over 110 plate appearances last month. Hoskins now has 11 total walks in May, helping raise his on-base percentage from .273 to .333 throughout this month.

 

  • The Phils almost got through this one without committing an error, and then, well, they didn’t. Ronald Torreyes committed a throwing error on a potential game-ending double play. That opened the door for Alec Bohm’s eighth error of the season, most among all MLB third basemen. With two outs in the ninth and an opportunity to end the game, Bohm and Andrew Knapp couldn’t track down a pop-up in foul territory. Bohm took charge late but to no avail. No harm this time around, as Archie Bradley retired Bobby Dalbec two pitches later to finish it. But…