Zack Wheeler did everything he could on Sunday to ensure that the Phillies would leave New York with a win. He struck out eight, allowed just four hits and two walks, lowered his season ERA to 2.20, and was quick to silence the Mets whenever trouble seemed near.
The Phillies entered Sunday’s 4-2 win at Citi Field with eight losses in their last 11 games, each one seeming more painful than the last. They needed a win and they needed a performance like the one they received from Wheeler.
He pitched seven innings, normally a welcome line for a starting pitcher. But that meant the Phillies would need six outs from their bullpen. And this week has proved that six outs is an awful lot. Jose Alvarado made it interesting in the eighth and Archie Bradley allowed a homer in the ninth. But that was it. The bullpen — after four straight games of blown saves — held on.
The Phillies starters — Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Matt Moore, and Zach Eflin — combined this weekend for a 0.39 ERA in four games against the Mets. The starting pitching was excellent against the division leaders, yet the Phillies had to settle for a series split.
Andrew McCutchen and Ronald Torreyes each had three hits Sunday, Nick Maton doubled in a run and scored twice, and the Phils took advantage of the types of defensive miscues they have been prone to commit.
In the first, Wheeler laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt and the throw to first was dropped by second baseman Jeff McNeil. The Phillies got an extra out and took advantage of it as Odúbel Herrera followed with a sacrifice fly that would have been the third out of the inning but instead was an RBI. Torreyes singled in a run in the third on a play that could have been made by third baseman Luis Guillorme but his throw was errant.
Wheeler started the fifth inning allowing the first two runners to reach base. Billy McKinney singled and Kevin Pillar walked. But that was as close as the Mets would get to cracking Wheeler. He retired the next three batters and gave the Phils the performance they needed.
