Zack Wheeler got off to a bit of a shaky start against the Nationals on Tuesday, giving up a pair of homers early in the game. He knew it, we knew, but someone still felt the need to let him know.

The fan yelled to let Zack Wheeler know he was “getting rocked by the Nationals”:

Unsure if the guy yelling was a Nationals fan or one of our fans, but given the fact that Phillies fans don’t criticize poor performances anymore after Trea Turner’s resurgence, I’m sure it’s someone who made the trip up from D.C., right?

I’ll be honest, we had the game on in the office and those were the first words out of my mouth too. It was below our usual standards for Zack Wheeler, but even at my most belligerent, I wouldn’t yell that from the stands.

Of course, the Washington announcers were quick to shift the blame to a mystery Phillies fan. Though, I can’t blame them since there are so few fans of the team in the first place. There may not have been any at the game at all.

Wheeler allowed three earned runs over six innings of work and really, after a rough second and third, settled in as Kyle Schwarber hit two home runs to lead the Phillies to an easy 8-4 win.

On the season, Wheeler is now 9-5 with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He needed a little help today, sure, but settled in and let Alex Bohm and a few Schwarbombs handle the rest.

Speaking of Schwarber, he’s the first Phillies player since Ryan Howard did it in 2010-2011 to have two seasons with back-to-back 30+ home runs.

Listen to Grease the Poles!

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