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Zack Wheeler Cracks 2,000 Strikeouts and Breaks a Phillies Franchise Record
By Luke Arcaini
Published:
A crisp air blew through Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday night. It just felt like October.
When you think of October baseball, you think of Zack Wheeler. And no, the Phillies are not there yet. They have tonight’s contest, which is currently in the 6th inning, plus five games remaining in the regular season and have yet to officially lock up their spot in the postseason. But the 36-year-old achieved a milestone, broke a franchise record, and dominated early against the best team in the NL all in the first five innings.
Wheeler went into Tuesday night’s game with 1,997 strikeouts. 726 with the New York Mets, and 1,271 with the Phillies. Wheeler got the first milestone out of the way early, striking out Garrett Mitchell, Jackson Chourio, and Brice Turang in order to start the night.
With those three strikeouts, Wheeler became just the 96th pitcher in Major League Baseball history to reach 2,000 career Ks.
The early-game dominance didn’t stop in the 1st inning for Wheeler. After fanning the side in order again in the 2nd, Wheeler struck out Luis Lara to start off the third inning, breaking the Phillies franchise record of consecutive strikeouts to start a game. Brandon Duckworth held the record for 24 years with six consecutive Ks.
This story is being published in the middle of the game, so this number will probably go up. But Wheeler has dominated the Brewers so far tonight, striking out 10 batters through 5 innings. The Phillies are going to need everything their starters have in the postseason, and they’ll hope this version of Wheeler carries over into October.
Luke Arcaini has been writing about the Phillies for 6 seasons, and is now in his 2nd year covering for Phillies down at Citizens Bank Park for Crossing Broad. Follow him on Twitter @ArcainiLuke