On a day when Philadelphia celebrated one of the greatest hurlers in recent memory, Zack Wheeler went out and pieced together the best starting pitcher performance of the year for the Phillies.
It was a fitting way to honor the legacy of Hall of Famer Roy Halladay.
Wheeler went the distance, tossing a two-hit shutout in front of a raucous crowd of 39,186 fans at Citizens Bank Park as the Phillies defeated the Mets, 3-0.
The win secured a sweep of the Mets and extended the Phils' lead in the NL East to two games over the Braves. The victory also extended the Phillies' winning streak to a season-best eight games.
"We're playing good baseball," Bryce Harper said. "Timely hitting, getting good pitching, we're just ready to play every day. Not that we weren't before, but it's time to go and win ballgames."
Jean Segura and J.T. Realmuto each hit solo blasts in the first off Mets' starter Taijuan Walker. Harper added another solo homer in the sixth for insurance. Combined, the club has hit 13 homers over the last seven days, the second-most in the Majors over that span.
"They help you pick up quick runs, and you don't need to string hits together," manager Joe Girardi said.
In eight games this month, Harper is hitting .367 with four homers and seven RBIs. He's a significant reason for the Phils' recent run of success and continues to strengthen his case for NL MVP.
"Just to be where we are as a team, if I can help that each day in the batters' box and get on base, that's all I want to do," Harper said. "The other things will take care of themselves."
Wheeler surrendered a leadoff double to Brandon Nimmo to open the first inning but was near perfect for the rest of the afternoon, sitting down 22 straight at one point while collecting 11 strikeouts. He received a standing ovation when he came out to hit in the eighth. He threw 108 pitches on the afternoon, 80 for strikes.
Oh yeah, the last Philadelphia hurler to record 22 consecutive outs? That would be Halladay when he retired all 27 batters in his perfect game on May 29, 2010 against the Marlins.
"I probably would have run him to 115 pitches; that's how good he was," Girardi said of Wheeler. "About the seventh or eighth inning, you start thinking this is special. "On a day where we honor one of the greatest pitchers that I've ever seen, he goes out, and it was like Roy had his hand. Zack, was he good today."
Wheeler has a 2.42 ERA on the season through 23 starts. He also has a 0.99 WHIP and is considered, as of now, a strong candidate for the NL Cy Young Award. The outing on Sunday was his third complete game of the season and marked the sixth time this year he's recorded double-digits in strikeouts.
"To do that on his day, what can you say?" Wheeler said. "Today was his day, and I just tried to pitch like him. You try and go out and throw a complete game every day; today it just happened to be Roy's day. I saw his number on the back of the mound; it just pushed me a little more."
The Phillies won't see the Mets again until a three-game weekend series at Citi Field beginning Sept. 17.
The club is off on Monday before opening a three-game set with the NL West-leading Dodgers on Tuesday. Righty Aaron Nola will start the series opener for the Phils while the Dodgers counter with newly-acquired veteran right-hander Max Scherzer.
With a little more than seven weeks remaining in the regular season, the Phillies are in the thick of a pennant race.
"We have a long ways to go, but I'm very proud of those guys in there," Girardi said.
