NEW YORK — If you were to hear that your team’s ace is on the mound in a situation where a win secures the division title … you’d feel pretty darn good, right?
The Phillies found themselves in that exact situation Sunday night at Citi Field.
Zack Wheeler, a Cy Young candidate this season, went up against his former team with a chance to send his club back to Philadelphia with the NL East crown.
Written out, it all seemed too perfect. (That’s because it was.)
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Wheeler did his part, posting seven innings and limiting the damage to two runs.
The offense on the other hand … did not.
For the second consecutive night, the Phillies fell short in Queens, 2-1, to drop the four-game series to the Mets and postpone any kind of celebration for another day.
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Pros: They now have a chance to clinch at Citizens Bank Park, where they have a 52-25 record, the best home record in MLB this season.
Cons: It should’ve been done this series. In New York. With your ace on the mound.
You can’t waste a Wheeler start. Not when there are vital elements in play that determine your route in the postseason. Clinching the division was only No. 2 on the end-of-season checklist.
They still have their eyes set on winning the National League in its entirety, which secures a first-round bye and home field advantage. Rob Thomson wants the bye. He wants his players to have a few days to rest and regroup. There’s a plan in place for when that becomes a viable option.
For the past few weeks, it seemed like that break was the most important factor. After wrapping up their seven-game road trip 2-5, it’s become glaring the Phillies don’t just want home field advantage … they need it.
The only benefit is that it wasn't a must-win game. The Phillies play three at home against the Cubs starting Monday and wrap up the regular season against the Nationals. It's not a must-win until Sunday in Washington. Even then, they still have a spot in the postseason.
Following a deflating loss, there was still optimism in the clubhouse — especially from Wheeler.
"I mean it's disappointing," he said. "But at the end of the day, we can go home and win this thing in front of our own fans and just start playing a little better once we get home. Just try to win these next couple series and go into the playoffs hot.
"Just turn the page, it's not the end of the world."
Sunday marked the 10th straight start for Wheeler where he hasn't given up more than two runs in a start, he's now 6-4 in that stretch.
The go-ahead run came off a Brandon Nimmo solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Wheeler left a fastball over the middle of the plate and knew that was one he'd want back.
"I knew the pitch was a good pitch to hit," Wheeler said. "Once he hit it, I knew he hit it well. Saw Nick (Castellanos) going back and thought it might have a chance (to stay in the yard). It's just a bad pitch by me and hit well from him."
Wheeler, and Matt Strahm, who pitched a scoreless eighth inning, gave the Phillies' offense a chance ... but all they could muster up was one run in the very first inning, an Alec Bohm RBI to give him 95 on the season. It's two shy from a career-high.
Despite the lack of production, manager Rob Thomson was encouraged from what he saw:
"Tonight, actually, I thought we had good at bats. We put a lot of pitches on (Tylor) Megill early. We hit a lot of balls hard. … They just didn't land. We had some opportunities, they just didn't get it done."
Hopefully they take a page out of Wheeler's book (or turn it, at least) and come out Monday night in front of a crowd of 44,000-plus of the Philly faithful and get the job done.
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