The Phillies gave out runs like they were handing out ties and cologne.
Nick Castellanos hit a grand slam. Alec Bohm launched a two-run homer. Otto Kemp kept hitting like a guy who’s been here for years, not days. And Zack Wheeler? He did what Zack Wheeler does — hurled another gem.
That’s what life looks like when you're the ace of a first-place team and the father of four — the newest addition arriving just two weeks ago. But even with diapers and sleepless nights back home, Wheeler showed once again that very little has changed about his spot near the top of the National League’s pitching hierarchy.
Wheeler delivered another gem in Sunday’s 11–4 romp over the Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park. He struck out nine, walked none, and allowed just one earned run over six efficient innings, as Philadelphia completed the sweep and pushed their June surge even higher.
His reward? Likely a baby bottle and a nap. Maybe.
“You have the kids in the back of your mind and try to pitch well for them and make them happy and let them enjoy it, too,” Wheeler said. “It’s very important. My family’s growing, and to pitch in front of them, it’s always pretty cool.”
Enjoy it they did. Wheeler’s ERA dropped to 2.76, his strikeout total climbed to 110, and his WHIP stayed microscopic at 0.89. With a 7–2 record, he’s again firmly in the conversation for the NL Cy Young Award, sharing the front row with Pirates phenom Paul Skenes.
But if he has his way, personal hardware comes second.
“Two things every pitcher wants to do,” he said. “Win a Cy Young, personally, and also win a World Series. That’s why we play — to win a World Series.”
The Wheeler family’s story has played out almost in parallel with his Phillies career. His first child was born just before his debut in the shortened 2020 season. His second arrived a couple weeks before Father’s Day in 2022. Their third was born days after he signed a $126 million extension in 2024. And now, with No. 4 in tow, he’s leading a rotation that just might be the best in baseball.
"It's pretty cool," Wheeler said. "Going from kind of just being by myself, to having my wife, to having a family of four kids, it's pretty cool."
And it wasn’t just Wheeler who delivered.
Bohm crushed a towering homer in the fifth and added an RBI single. Kemp, who was still on a Minor League field a month ago, went 4-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs scored, pushing his average to .351 in his first 12 big-league games.
“I feel good,” Kemp said. “It’s really just an extension of where we were at [in triple A]. Try not to change anything. It’s the same game that we’ve been playing all year. The goal is to get better from beginning to end.”
And then there was Castellanos, whose grand slam in the sixth broke things wide open and sent the crowd into a frenzy.
As for Wheeler, a rough fifth inning featuring a bloop, a botched pickoff, and a throw to the wrong base briefly muddied an otherwise spotless line.
Which, come to think of it, might be the secret.
No sleep. Four kids.
And still, one of the best pitchers on the planet.
