Bryce Harper saw Brandon Marsh charging from the dugout in excitement and turned his body into a defensive stance. Marsh jumped as Harper smiled and playfully pushed him away.
"I didn't even think of it," Marsh said. "But yeah, he just had surgery, I should probably not do that."
Edmundo Sosa scored the winning run for the Phils on a Harper comebacker that resulted in an errant throw by Toronto shortstop Bo Bichette, giving the Phillies a 2-1 victory over the Blue Jays on Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park.
The win brought the Phillies to within two games of .500 and secured a winning homestand (3-2) against two quality American League clubs.
Zack Wheeler pieced together his best start of the year, scattering three hits over seven innings with seven strikeouts. His lone blemish was a solo homer surrendered to Brandon Belt in the fifth.
“I went down in the sixth and asked how he was; he said, ‘I’m great. I feel great, fresh,’” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “I said, ‘All right, empty the tank.’ And he did. He did a great job.”
Wheeler threw 107 pitches and tossed seven frames for the first time since Aug. 3 last year.
“That's our goal every time; for me, it’s seven or more,” Wheeler said. “It's definitely more satisfying and that's where I want to be.”
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman was hit around in his previous outing, surrendering eight runs over 3 1/3 innings last week in a loss to Boston. He responded Wednesday with arguably his best performance of the season, tossing six scoreless frames while collecting nine strikeouts. He threw 99 pitches, including 74 for strikes.
The two starters combined on the day to surrender one run on six hits over 13 innings. They walked one batter and whiffed 16.
"He was making me tired because of how quickly the innings were going," Wheeler said with a smile, speaking about Gausman's dominance of the Phils' lineup.
Harper and Nick Castellanos hit back-to-back singles off Toronto reliever Jordan Romano to open the ninth. Harper eventually crossed the plate on a J.T. Realmuto double to left field, tying the contest at 1-1. Castellanos made the second out of the frame, running on contact from third base before being tagged out on a play at the plate following an Alec Bohm grounder to Vlad Guerrero Jr. at first base. Sosa then grounded out to end the threat.
Craig Kimbrel recorded the win, tossing a scoreless 10th while collecting two strikeouts.
INSIDE PITCH
The Phillies on Wednesday placed reliever JOSE ALVARADO on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation. Alvarado was unavailable on Tuesday and told reporters afterward that his wrist felt tight, but he wasn't too concerned about the pain or missing time. He underwent an MRI and no issues were discovered, so that's a good sign. The 27-year-old left-hander has been one of baseball's best relievers with 24 whiffs and a 1.88 ERA over 14 1/3 innings. . . . Right-hander ANDREW BELLATTI rejoined the bullpen on Wednesday following a 15-day IL stint with right triceps tendinitis.
UP NEXT
The Phillies are off on Thursday as the club again heads west for a six-game road trip. TAIJUAN WALKER will start on Friday as the club opens a weekend series in Colorado before traveling to San Francisco for a three-game set beginning Monday. The Rockies and Giants are a combined 32-41 this season.
