The best start of Wheeler's career completes sweep for MLB's hottest team originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Zack Wheeler was a man on a mission Sunday, paying a fitting tribute to Roy Halladay with a dominant, efficient shutout on the day Halladay's No. 34 was retired.
It was the second shutout of the season for Wheeler, who led the NL East-leading Phillies to a 3-0 win that finished off a pivotal three-game sweep over the Mets.
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The Phils homered twice in the first inning to give their ace all the run support he needed. It was Phillies’ eighth consecutive win, their longest streak in more than a decade. They last won eight in a row from July 29 through August 6 in 2011. Halladay won two of those games.
Jean Segura, hit by a pitch on the lip Saturday night, crushed a solo home run to left-center field two batters into the bottom of the first inning.
J.T. Realmuto followed two batters later with an opposite-field solo shot.
Bryce Harper got into the act with an opposite-field solo homer of his own in the sixth inning.
The crowd of more than 39,000 was loud from start to finish.
Segura has destroyed the Mets as a Phillie. Across three seasons, he’s hit .385 with 10 doubles, 3 triples, 8 home runs and 23 RBI in 140 plate appearances.
Brandon Nimmo greeted Wheeler with a leadoff double but Wheeler cruised from there with his free-and-easy upper-90s fastball, retiring 22 in a row. The Mets hit one ball out of the infield during that stretch. No Phillie had retired 22 in a row since Halladay in his perfect game in 2010.
It took Wheeler only four innings to throw the most 99+ mph pitches he’s had in any career start.
You’d better believe Wheeler wanted to contribute to the skid his former team is on. The Mets are 2-9 in their last 11 games and now trail the Phillies by 2½ games.
On Thursday, the Mets left 15 men on base.
On Friday, the Mets went 1 for 16 with men on base.
On Saturday, the Mets had two hits and no runs through eight innings.
On Sunday, the Mets were two-hit.
Wheeler continues to build upon his Cy Young résumé. In 23 starts, he leads the majors with 156 innings pitched and is 10-6 with a 2.42 ERA. Meanwhile, Jacob deGrom has not pitched since July 7 because of a forearm injury. He’s pitched 63 fewer innings than Wheeler. Kevin Gausman stumbled out of the All-Star break, allowing 11 runs in 11⅔ innings in his first three starts. Wheeler has a sizable innings advantage over him, too. At this point, Wheeler has as good a chance as any National League starting pitcher to win the award.
The length he provided the Phillies Sunday was important. It was the Phils’ 20th game in 20 days and the bullpen has been taxed during the winning streak. Coming into Sunday, closer Ian Kennedy and setup man Archie Bradley had each been used five times in seven days.
At 2 hours and 19 minutes, it was the Phillies' shortest nine-inning game since June 12, 2019.
The Phillies are off Monday for the first time since July 19. Their longest stretch of consecutive games the rest of the season is 13 in a row in late September. Having the next three Mondays off will allow the Phillies to skip the No. 5 spot in their rotation a couple of times. They’ll do so this week, with Aaron Nola starting Tuesday, Kyle Gibson Wednesday, Ranger Suarez Thursday and Wheeler Friday. They’ll have to figure out Saturday.
The next two series will be challenging. The Phils have three-game series at home against the Dodgers and Reds. They do get a break by missing Walker Buehler. They were initially scheduled to face Buehler and Max Scherzer in the first two games of the L.A. series but Buehler started Sunday. The Phils draw Scherzer Tuesday and David Price (who is mostly serving as an opener) Thursday. Wednesday is TBA.
The Reds have raked in the second half. They lead the majors in runs scored and OPS since the All-Star break. Joey Votto leads the majors with 12 home runs in the second half and leadoff man Jonathan India has been on fire as he pushes toward the NL Rookie of the Year award. They also got slugger Nick Castellanos back this week.
But first up is a day of rest for the 59-53 Phillies, the hottest team in baseball.
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