Wheeler out of sync against Marlins, but avoids excuses after erratic outing

Wheeler out of sync against Marlins, but avoids excuses after erratic outing originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia

MIAMI — With a three-run lead against baseball’s worst offense before stepping on the mound Sunday afternoon, Zack Wheeler had one of his worst games as a Phillie in a surprising 7-6 loss to the Marlins.

Wheeler was erratic, missing low, missing high and missing on both sides of the plate. By the time he recorded the first of the fourth inning, he had already walked three and struck out one batter. Those free bases played a huge role as the Marlins rallied in the second, third and fourth innings.

The biggest blow was Josh Bell’s three-run homer in the bottom of the third that turned a two-run Phillies lead into a deficit. Wheeler found more trouble in the bottom of the fourth, hitting Vidal Brujan with an 0-2 slider to start a two-run inning.

He lasted just four innings, throwing 80 pitches and putting 10 men on base.

The Phillies scored three runs in the top of the sixth to rally and tie the game, but both offenses went silent until backup infielder Emmanuel Rivera hit a bouncing ball off Gregory Soto’s back for a one-out single in the bottom of the 10th. .

“They were being very aggressive today,” Wheeler said. “I wasn’t controlling the ball like I wanted and they caught me. I had a day off.

“I felt great, nothing felt weird, so I had a hard time fixing it just because I didn’t feel anything. Most of the time when you’re doing this kind of thing, you feel something, like you’re pulling and trying to make the adjustment.”

Backup catcher Garrett Stubbs caught Wheeler for just the sixth time in three seasons because JT Realmuto was scratched in the morning with a sore right knee. Realmuto would be available in an emergency on Sunday and his status for Monday at Citi Field is TBD.

Wheeler and Stubbs had some trouble syncing up at certain times. On one pitch, Wheeler shook him four times, resulting in a visit to the mound. In a very small sample of 34⅓ innings with Stubbs, he has a 6.29 ERA compared to 2.91 in 578 innings with Realmuto.

Wheeler didn’t want to use that as an excuse.

“Sort of, but it is what it is,” he said. “I play with JT all the time, but it’s not the end of the world. (Stubbs and I) were on the same page for the most part, but it’s just different scenarios where I like to do certain things and he’s just not used to it. this.

“But this one wasn’t on Stubby, it was on me, I threw a lot of balls. That’s on me.”

The Marlins’ game-changing third inning came after a long bottom of the second by Wheeler, followed by a quick eight-pitch inning by Braxton Garrett against Alec Bohm, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos. Harper and Castellanos faced off on the first pitch and Wheeler was back. This is often a challenge for a pitcher, especially in the pitch-clock era with fewer ways to buy time.

“I don’t want these guys to change their game plan, but I mean, yeah, it was a little hot and humid and you’re really not used to that,” Wheeler said. “It happens quickly, but I don’t want them to change what they’re doing. It’s up to me to deal with it, go back there, throw punches and get out.”

He still has a 2.53 ERA in nine starts, which shows how well he pitched the first eight times. Wheeler’s next game will be Friday at home against the Nationals.

The Phillies (28-13) scored first for the 29th time this season on Castellanos’ three-run homer in the first inning. He has scored three hits since April 30, all on the first pitch.

This is the ideal time for Castellanos and Bryson Stott to be hot, with Trea Turner (hamstring strain) out for another month and Kyle Schwarber (lower back soreness) Realmuto (right knee soreness) out of the lineup. Sunday.

Castellanos is on an eight-game hitting streak and has hit .263/.344/.526 over his last 15.

Stott reached base five times Sunday with a single, double, three walks and two steals. He has hit .412/.553/.765 in his last 11 games with seven extra-base hits, 13 RBI, 11 walks and six strikeouts.

The Phillies also received good production this weekend from shortstop Edmundo Sosa, who has reached base in 13 of 28 plate appearances with a double, two triples, five RBI and eight runs scored since Turner suffered a hamstring strain.

Sosa hit a custom double in the Marlins’ third run, but he also made two fantastic defensive plays late in the game and his two-run triple in the sixth helped the Phils rally.

The Phillies lost the final but won the series. They head to New York undefeated in their last 11 series (8-0-3).

“It’s frustrating,” Wheeler said. “You obviously want to go on and give the team a win, but I just couldn’t do it today. The guys reacted and that’s what good teams do, they get you.

“We are in good shape. We won the series and that is our goal, to win every series. Losing a (game) here and there, we will win.”