Phillies win fourth straight under Mattingly as Zack Wheeler brings stability to the rotation

The Phillies won their fourth straight under Don Mattingly on Friday night with a 6-5 win over the Marlins in Miami. In three of those four wins, the Phillies have received a quality start. For a team that had six quality starts total with a 5.80 ERA from its starting staff through the first 28 games of the season, that’s a massive shift from what we all witnessed over the first two months.

Zack Wheeler Trending Upwards

Zack Wheeler authored Friday’s quality start with six innings of one-run ball. Three hits allowed, two of them on back-to-back two-out doubles in the first inning that accounted for Miami’s only run against him.

After that, he was sharp. Two walks, eight strikeouts, and his fastball reached 94.7 mph with seven swings and misses on the pitch. He’s building velocity steadily in his return from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery and the command has been there from the start.

Wheeler felt an obligation to go deep in this one after the bullpen picked up 10 innings in the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader against San Francisco. He wanted seven innings and didn’t get there, finishing at six, but he gave the relievers the break they desperately needed.

In two starts since his return, Wheeler has pitched 11 innings and allowed just three runs. More importantly, he seems to have jump-started the entire rotation around him. Phillies starters have a 3.16 ERA in six games since Wheeler came back. That number was astronomical before his return. The staff that finished second in starters’ ERA last year is starting to look like itself again.

Wheeler knows what’s at stake. He said the staff feels the pressure. He called them the core and said it starts with the pitchers putting up zeroes. The Phillies entered Friday night 9 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the NL East and Wheeler understands that the rotation cannot let this team fall any further behind.

The Offense Is Warming Up

The bats that started showing signs of life in Thomson’s final days have continued to heat up under Mattingly. The Phillies rallied for two runs in the fourth inning with two-out hits from Alec Bohm and Justin Crawford after Bryson Stott drew a walk to keep the inning alive. In the seventh, Stott hammered a three-run homer against lefty Cade Gibson to cap a four-run rally and push the lead to 6-1.

Bryson Stott. Ring It.

Bryson Stott. RING IT. #RingTheBell | #Phillies pic.twitter.com/xvA4In6Wf0

— The Liberty Line (@LibertyLinePHL) May 2, 2026

The Phillies produced nine hits on the night. Turner was rested so Schwarber batted leadoff and struck out five times, which is a Schwarber thing that happens sometimes and you just accept it. Crawford continues to look like one of the most reliable hitters on the roster despite being a rookie. Bohm is still hitting .151 overall but has had a couple of timely hits in recent days. The offense isn’t fixed but it’s at least competitive again.

Phillies Bullpen Almost Blew It

The Phillies led 6-1 heading into the eighth inning and somehow made it a one-run game by the final out. Jonathan Bowlan got tagged for three runs in the eighth before Jose Alvarado struck out Christopher Morel with two runners on to stop the bleeding. Brad Keller had trouble throwing strikes in the ninth and gave up another run before finally recording the last out.

A 6-1 lead turning into a 6-5 sweat is not ideal. The bullpen has been overworked all season because of the lack of length from starters and nights like Thursday’s doubleheader don’t help. But a win is a win and after the start this team has had, the Phillies need to pile them up regardless of how ugly the final innings look.

Marchan Is Painful to Watch

Rafael Marchan left five runners on base while it was still a 2-1 game. He popped out with runners on second and third to end the fourth. He grounded into a 5-4-3 double play with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth on a full count. That dropped him to 0-for-13 and a .080 batting average on the season. The backup catcher spot has been a black hole offensively and it’s costing this team runs every single night.

JT Realmuto went through defensive drills before the game and could be activated during this series, possibly as soon as Saturday. The sooner that happens, the better. Marchan works well with Wheeler behind the plate and that matters, but .080 from the nine hole is killing rallies that this offense cannot afford to waste.

13-19. Four Straight. Keep Stacking.

The Phillies are 13-19. They’re still 9 1/2 back of Atlanta. The hole is deep and the season is barely a month old. But four straight wins, three quality starts, an offense that is starting to find its rhythm, and a rotation that looks like it remembers who it is are all reasons to feel better about this team than anyone felt two weeks ago.

Andrew Painter takes the ball Saturday afternoon against Max Meyer. Can the Phillies make it five straight under Mattingly? The way things are trending, I wouldn’t bet against it.

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