Zack Wheeler steadies the ship, Phillies complete the sweep with a 5-2 over the Angels
After a rough stretch that had half this city ready to hurl themselves into the Delaware, Zack Wheeler took a giant step back toward being himself Sunday, gutting out six strong innings for his first win since July 12 and carrying the Phillies to a 5-2 win and a sweep of the Angels.
Edmundo Sosa dropped ANOTHER bomb, the offense handled its business, and the Phillies put a bow on a monster August. Let me paint the picture, because this was the swing point.
Blazing 90-degree day in Anaheim, Wheeler’s pitch count already north of 100, the tank running dry, and he’d just walked two guys in a tie game. Two outs, bottom of the sixth, Jose Siri digging in, and absolutely nowhere to turn. This is the exact spot that kept blowing up in Wheeler’s face during the slump.
So of course, Zack Wheeler reminded everyone he’s still one of the nastiest arms on the planet. Down 2-0 to Siri with the game hanging in the balance, Wheeler clawed back into the count and buried him on a 3-2 curveball for a swinging strikeout, his 15th whiff of the day. No bullpen bailout, no white flag. He cleaned up his own mess like a man.
That was a big moment, because minutes later, Sosa cracked a go-ahead homer to left and the Phillies took off. Wheeler wriggling out of that jam was the hinge the whole game turned on, plain and simple.
Here’s the part that’s got me fired up, and it’s why I never chopped down the trust tree. After that four-homer, five-walk horror show in Seattle, the Phillies’ pitching brain trust spent the entire week tearing his mechanics apart to figure out what broke, and they made an adjustment.
Did it flip a switch instantly? Not exactly.
Wheels was shaky early, walked one and plunked another to load the bases and cough up a run in the first but a double-play ball got him out of it, and from that point on we had the Zack Wheeler we know and love.
The final line was a legit return to form: six innings, four hits, one run, three walks, six punchouts. That’s a damn good day, especially given the hole he was climbing out of. Half of his 108 pitches were four-seamers sitting 95.4 and touching 96.3, so the gas is still there. Derek Hill helped him out with a gorgeous running, diving grab in the third, but the biggest jam of the day, that sixth inning, he slammed shut all by himself.
Wheeler kept it after. He admitted he’s close but wouldn’t let himself off the hook: “I’m still not out of it. It’s been tough. I’ve just had to grind. I expect a standard from myself and I just haven’t been there.”
That’s an ace talking. He’s not satisfied, he knows there’s another gear, and he’s still hunting it but make no mistake, this was a huge step, and it’s precisely what I said would happen. You don’t abandon a guy with his résumé over one bad month like a bunch of babies. Trust tree remains undefeated, and I’ll be collecting my apologies at the door.
Sosa Is Living an Absolute Dream Right Now
Edmundo Sosa deserves a little more love. Starting at third against lefty Yusei Kikuchi, Sosa launched the go-ahead bomb that won the game, capping a monster series. This is the same dude who smoked a ninth-inning grand slam to steal Friday’s game. Seven homers on the year now, and he spent the whole weekend delivering haymakers in the biggest spots. When your utility guy is carrying the club like this, that’s what real depth looks like, and Sosa has been an absolute revelation.
The Rest of the Crew Showed Up Too
The offense chipped in around the big swings. J.T. Realmuto tied it with a solo shot in the third, Sosa put them ahead in the seventh, and they tacked on two in the eighth and one in the ninth for some cushion.
Bryce Harper just keeps being an on-base cheat code, singling and doubling to push his career-best on-base streak to 32 games. The man simply refuses to make outs.
The pen mostly held, too. Rookie Alex McFarlane keeps impressing with a scoreless seventh, and while Alvarado and Kerkering made the late innings a bit sweaty, they finished it off.
McFarlane’s been a genuinely nice find right when the team needed fresh arms.
A Monster August, and a HUGE Week on Deck
August was supposed to be easy. I’ve been saying since the trade deadline. It was a month where the Phillies were supposed to pad the win column and thankfully, they did exactly that. The Phillies have won 13 of their last 15 to hit a season-high 17 games over .500, and they’re a filthy 20-7 in August with one game left in the month.
Now the schedule turns into a gauntlet. Three in Arizona starting Monday against a Diamondbacks team sitting 4.5 back in the Wild Card, meaning a good series could flat-out bury them.
Then Friday, the big one: four games with the Braves at Citizens Bank Park, the first of seven meetings in two weeks. Atlanta’s up five in the East, and this stretch could decide whether the Phillies make a real charge at the division crown.
Fittingly, Wheeler lines up for game two of that Braves series. He might not be all the way back yet, but after Sunday, I feel a whole lot better about where he’s headed. Get him rolling for October and this rotation is downright scary.
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