Outside of Hoskins’ home run, Wheeler dominated as the Phillies took the series opener. First seen on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Zack Wheeler was visibly frustrated after being hit with consecutive pitches in the third inning on Monday night. Home plate umpire Sean Barber called two consecutive strikes as balls, and Wheeler froze upon catching both returns, clearly wondering where he’d made a mistake.
Joey Ortiz walked and No. 9 hitter Blake Perkins singled, loading the bases with Wheeler on base. The Phillies were up by two runs, but this was a critical moment in the game, and with the top of the order coming up to bat, Milwaukee had a chance to tie the game or take the lead.
Bryce Turan, a pesky leadoff hitter, worked a deep count and grounded out the seventh pitch to Wheeler, who immediately threw it wildly to home plate. JT Realmuto caught Wheeler’s short hop and threw to first base for a 1-2-3 double play. Wheeler ended the inning shortly after striking out the dangerous William Contreras and generally played well the rest of the way.
Realmuto’s play wouldn’t show up in the score, but it may have saved the game: If he had missed Wheeler’s throw to the ground, they’d have scored at least one run, maybe two, plus two runners in scoring position who couldn’t be called out.
Those are the little accomplishments the 42-19 Phillies have been doing all season, and they did it again in Monday’s 3-1 win.
“It was a chance to close out the inning at a big moment in the game,” Wheeler said. “JT made a great play. There aren’t a lot of catchers in the league that can play like that. Very few. It was just good defense behind me all night.”
“I’m always prepared to come back, but I got hit a little while ago and I tried to hit it too early. That happens sometimes. I just tried to hit it early and make sure I got two runs. I almost didn’t get them, but credit to JT.”
Wheeler improved to 7-3 with a 2.24 ERA. He threw 114 pitches, the second-most in his five seasons with the Phillies. Manager Rob Thomson expected Wheeler to be able to pitch at least an extra day before his next outing and felt comfortable pitching a little longer than usual. The Phillies are off Thursday and Friday because they have two games against the Mets in London on Saturday and Sunday. Wheeler is expected to pitch again next Tuesday.
“We have a week off before we can pitch again. Two days ago, Ranger (Suarez) left the game after two innings,” Thompson said. “We went into extra innings last night, so our relief staff is a little rough and we’re a little thin.”
“Ortiz’s at-bat (the last batter he faced) was Wheeler’s last at-bat. I had to get him out after that and probably use two more pitchers than just (Jeff) Hoffman and (Jose) Alvarado. I was hoping Wheeler would pull through, and he did, which was great.”
Wheeler, Ranger Suarez, Aaron Nola and Christopher Sanchez have a combined 2.43 ERA in 292 1/3 innings this season. By comparison, only Blake Snell had a lower ERA among starting pitchers in all of baseball last season.
The Phillies scored the first two runs of the game on four singles in the top of the second inning on Monday night. Left fielder David Dahl, making his debut, singled between first and second base to move a runner to third with two outs, and Edmundo Sosa and Johan Rojas followed with RBI singles.
The Phillies have outscored opponents 87-44 in the first two innings of games this season, nearly double the amount of points their opponents have scored.
Two innings later, Dahl smashed a missile into right field for a solo home run, not bad for his first day with a new team.
Dahl and Weston Wilson, roommates at Allentown, were promoted from Triple-A on Monday afternoon after Brandon Marsh (right hamstring tightness) and Cody Clemens (back spasms) were placed on the 10-day disabled list.
There was plenty of energy and emotion Monday night at Citizens Bank Park as 43,553 packed the field for Rhys Hoskins’ first game in Philadelphia since signing with the Brewers in late January. Hoskins batted sixth as Milwaukee’s designated hitter and hit a solo home run off Wheeler with two outs in the seventh inning. Earlier in the day, he had popped out, reached base on a walk and was caught out at home plate by Rojas, who was trying to score from second on a two-out single.
Hoskins received thunderous applause throughout the night, especially in the second inning. The Phillies honored him with a video before the top of the second inning, and the game was stopped for about 30 seconds when Hoskins came to bat. Hoskins patted Realmuto on the head and back, and the catcher, apparently acknowledging the moment, rose and walked to the mound to let Hoskins and the crowd savor the moment.
The Brewers were the best team the Phillies have faced since facing the Braves in the season’s opening three games, but the Phillies won Game 1, as they have done in 15 of the past 18 series.
The Phillies are 17-6 against teams with a winning record or teams that would have a winning record if they hadn’t lost to the Phillies.
“Overall, we’re playing good, fundamental baseball,” Wheeler said. “It’s fun to watch.”
