Zack Wheeler delivered a complete-game gem on Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, striking out 12 and throwing 108 pitches in a dazzling 3-1 win over the Reds. He didn’t walk a batter, allowed just three hits, and finished the job as “Let’s go Wheeler!” chants echoed around the ballpark in the bottom of the ninth.
"That's why it's awesome to play here in Philly," Wheeler said.
The final out? A fly ball off the bat of TJ Friedl that settled into Max Kepler’s glove in left, capping one of Wheeler’s most dominant outings of the season — and perhaps his career.
And fittingly, it came just one inning after Bryson Stott finally broke the tension.
With one on and one out in the eighth, Stott got a 2-2 fastball from Tony Santillan — middle-middle, asking for it — and didn’t miss. Exit velocity: 105.8 mph. Distance: 405 feet to right. A no-doubt rocket that finally snapped the Phillies out of their offensive funk and gave Wheeler the lead he so clearly deserved.
Before that? Just frustration.
The Phillies went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 men on base. They put the leadoff man aboard in four of the first six innings. They loaded the bases in the sixth. But for most of the afternoon, it felt like a parade of squandered chances.
“We had so many chances today,” manager Rob Thomson said. “We’ve got to put the ball in play with runners in scoring position. I mean, you can’t strike out at the rate we did today.”
Even Wheeler’s one misstep — a 3-1 fastball that former Phillie Austin Hays turned into a solo homer in the fifth — didn’t shake his rhythm. One pitch. One mistake. One less thing to dream about.
“After the fourth,” Thomson said, “I thought this had a chance to be a no-hitter or a perfect game, I really did. He was just dominant. Everything was working — his command, his control, everything.”
And that was the extent of the Reds’ offense.
Wheeler, just days removed from being named National League Pitcher of the Month for June — a month in which he posted a 0.51 ERA and allowed just two earned runs over 31 innings — struck out at least one batter in every inning. He ended it on his own terms. No bullpen. No drama. Just dominance.
Asked if it ranked among the best outings of his career, Wheeler paused, then nodded.
“I haven’t thrown that many complete games, so that’s a plus,” he said. “There’ve been some other satisfying ones along the way, but today was probably right there.”
The Reds turned to rookie Chase Burns — born in Naples, Italy, and carrying a 13.50 ERA over his first two Major League starts — and held their breath. He tiptoed through traffic for 4 2/3 innings before giving way to lefty Sam Moll with Kyle Schwarber at the plate.
Moll lost the battle.
Schwarber ripped a double off the wall in right, scoring Brandon Marsh — who had walked earlier in the frame — to tie things at 1-1.
But again, the Phillies couldn’t capitalize. In the sixth, after back-to-back singles and a two-out walk by Stott, Marsh went down swinging to end the threat. In the seventh, Harper drew a two-out walk, and Alec Bohm followed with a routine grounder that turned into a blooper-reel moment — a miscommunication between Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Elly De La Cruz let the ball scoot through, and Harper hustled to third. But Castellanos struck out to strand him there.
Finally, Stott delivered. And Wheeler did the rest.
Even if Stott hadn’t connected, Thomson wasn’t planning to pull Wheeler before the ninth.
“He still had his stuff in the eighth,” Thomson said. “I wouldn’t have taken him out until 115 pitches.”
The fact Wheeler had an extra day of rest after his last outing helped, too — and with another off day coming Thursday, the math worked out.
“That all factors into it,” Thomson said.
He smiled as he recalled the moment he checked in with Wheeler after the eighth.
“I’d lie to you,” Wheeler told him, “but I feel good.”
Final: Phillies 3, Reds 1. A masterpiece on the mound. A blast in the eighth. And a whole lot of missed chances in between.
The final out? A fly ball off the bat of TJ Friedl that settled into Max Kepler’s glove in left, capping one of Wheeler’s most dominant outings of the season — and perhaps his career.
And fittingly, it came just one inning after Bryson Stott finally broke the tension.
With one on and one out in the eighth, Stott got a 2-2 fastball from Tony Santillan — middle-middle, asking for it — and didn’t miss. Exit velocity: 105.8 mph. Distance: 405 feet to right. A no-doubt rocket that finally snapped the Phillies out of their offensive funk and gave Wheeler the lead he so clearly deserved.
Before that? Just frustration.
The Phillies went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 men on base. They put the leadoff man aboard in four of the first six innings. They loaded the bases in the sixth. But for most of the afternoon, it felt like a parade of squandered chances.
“We had so many chances today,” manager Rob Thomson said. “We’ve got to put the ball in play with runners in scoring position. I mean, you can’t strike out at the rate we did today.”
Even Wheeler’s one misstep — a 3-1 fastball that former Phillie Austin Hays turned into a solo homer in the fifth — didn’t shake his rhythm. One pitch. One mistake. One less thing to dream about.
“After the fourth,” Thomson said, “I thought this had a chance to be a no-hitter or a perfect game, I really did. He was just dominant. Everything was working — his command, his control, everything.”
And that was the extent of the Reds’ offense.
Wheeler, just days removed from being named National League Pitcher of the Month for June — a month in which he posted a 0.51 ERA and allowed just two earned runs over 31 innings — struck out at least one batter in every inning. He ended it on his own terms. No bullpen. No drama. Just dominance.
Asked if it ranked among the best outings of his career, Wheeler paused, then nodded.
“I haven’t thrown that many complete games, so that’s a plus,” he said. “There’ve been some other satisfying ones along the way, but today was probably right there.”
The Reds turned to rookie Chase Burns — born in Naples, Italy, and carrying a 13.50 ERA over his first two Major League starts — and held their breath. He tiptoed through traffic for 4 2/3 innings before giving way to lefty Sam Moll with Kyle Schwarber at the plate.
Moll lost the battle.
Schwarber ripped a double off the wall in right, scoring Brandon Marsh — who had walked earlier in the frame — to tie things at 1-1.
But again, the Phillies couldn’t capitalize. In the sixth, after back-to-back singles and a two-out walk by Stott, Marsh went down swinging to end the threat. In the seventh, Harper drew a two-out walk, and Alec Bohm followed with a routine grounder that turned into a blooper-reel moment — a miscommunication between Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Elly De La Cruz let the ball scoot through, and Harper hustled to third. But Castellanos struck out to strand him there.
Finally, Stott delivered. And Wheeler did the rest.
Even if Stott hadn’t connected, Thomson wasn’t planning to pull Wheeler before the ninth.
“He still had his stuff in the eighth,” Thomson said. “I wouldn’t have taken him out until 115 pitches.”
The fact Wheeler had an extra day of rest after his last outing helped, too — and with another off day coming Thursday, the math worked out.
“That all factors into it,” Thomson said.
He smiled as he recalled the moment he checked in with Wheeler after the eighth.
“I’d lie to you,” Wheeler told him, “but I feel good.”
Final: Phillies 3, Reds 1. A masterpiece on the mound. A blast in the eighth. And a whole lot of missed chances in between.
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