WATCH: Zack Wheeler calls Sacramento mound “terrible” as Phillies extend win streak to 8 games

Zack Wheeler showed up to Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, took one look at the mound, and realized he’d be throwing from a glorified sidewalk slab. Didn’t matter. He still shoved.

Wheeler extended his scoreless innings streak to 22⅔ on Friday night in a 4-3 Phillies win over the Athletics, Philly’s eighth straight. He struck out eight, gave up just three hits, and gutted his way through 6⅔ innings on a mound he later described as “cement” with “little bumps” when broken up.

Zack Wheeler on the mound at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento:

“The mound was terrible,” Wheeler said postgame. “I felt great and the mound was bad. Couldn’t really get into the dirt to drive, was kinda throwing all arm tonight.”

Still, it didn’t matter. Zack Wheeler’s ERA dropped to 2.42, and he now owns the lowest WHIP in the National League at 0.88. This is a guy who’s finished top two in Cy Young voting twice, and somehow he’s pitching better this year than either of those seasons.

The A’s, who are now playing in a minor-league stadium for the next three years while they wait for their Vegas playground, couldn’t do much outside of a late homer off Jordan Romano. It was Sacramento’s turn to get a front-row seat to the Phillies machine.

Romano, who had thrown nine straight scoreless outings coming into the night, gave up a three-run shot to rookie Nick Kurtz in the 9th. It made the final score look closer than it felt, but he still closed it down — barely.

Romano’s velocity dipped and he looked uncomfortable, likely thanks to the same Little League mound Zack Wheeler was fuming about.

Phillies win 8th straight, Wheeler silences A’s, Turner starts the fireworks early

Shoutout to Johan Rojas, who made another highlight reel grab — this one in center field to end the eighth and rob Tyler Soderstrom with the tying run 90 feet away.

OH MY RO pic.twitter.com/MJtNmL3qQy

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 24, 2025

Statcast put the catch probability at 11%. Of course he made it – that’s just what the Phillies do right now.

Turner homered to lead off the game and capped a ninth-inning rally with an RBI single. Alec Bohm knocked in a run, and Rojas joined the fun with an RBI knock of his own. Mason Miller was throwing 100+ but it didn’t matter.

The Phillies chipped away, worked counts, and took what was given.

That’s been the story of the win streak: elite pitching, timely hitting, and clean baseball. The rotation — now rocking a 1.28 ERA during the streak — has been surgical, and the defense has done its job.

Even when the field’s trash, the Phillies just keep winning.

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