Zack Wheeler guides Phillies to 3-0 win over the Nationals
After dropping 8 of 12 and watching Tuesday turn into a full-blown dumpster fire, this was a game the Phillies had to get a win with Zack Wheeler on the mound against the Nationals and thankfully, the ace showed up exactly when this team needed him most.
Wheeler tossed seven shutout innings, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out five. Economical too, 91 pitches. This is the guy who has to anchor everything in October, especially with Luzardo’s status hanging in the balance, and he’s peaking right on schedule.
Alvarado and Duran slammed the door to finish the shutout.
Wheeler’s got two starts left, the last coming on the final day of the regular season. The Phillies would love to clinch before then so they can skip that start and line him up for the playoff opener.
That’s the dream, and it’s one more reason these next few games carry weight.
The Phillies Offense Is Still Lost
Washington pitchers walked an obscene 13 batters and the Phillies scored three runs. They stranded 13 men on base and went a putrid 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
They got what they needed early, a Bohm RBI single and a Stott bases-loaded walk in the first, then an Arraez RBI double behind a Harper single in the seventh. Regardless, five hits and too many stranded runners. That’s a game the offense should have buried and instead made sweaty.
Some good, at least.
Luis Arraez, the contact king who never walks, drew three walks, just the third time in his entire career. Alec Bohm keeps raking, two hits, three walks, an RBI. He’s up to .251 with 84 RBIs, second on the team to Schwarber’s 95, and over his last 30 games he’s hitting .346 with a .949 OPS.
The Alec Bohm Redemption Tour rolls on, and he’s been one of the only reliable bats down the stretch.
Phillies Standings
The win pushed the Phillies to 84-68 with 10 to play, and they roll into New York on Thursday no worse than second in the Wild Card race.
Aaron Nola gets the opener Thursday, and Friday’s a question mark, the day Luzardo was slated to go. Could be Painter, could be a bullpen game, and if it’s a bullpen game Friday, Painter goes Saturday. That rotation uncertainty is the lingering price of the Luzardo injury, and it’s worth watching closely.
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