PHILADELPHIA – Conditions at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday afternoon were less than ideal for baseball.
There were sustained winds of about 20 miles per hour – and gusts nearly twice that strength – while fog continued to roll in throughout the ballgame. But the rain let up just long enough for the Phillies to eke out a 7-5 victory over the Mets, setting up a possible clinch scenario in Sunday’s series finale.
Bryce Harper rocketed through the howling winds for his 20th home run of the season and Alec Bohm later added his 19th on a day when every ball hit in the air seemingly became an adventure.
However, avoiding a postponement has been crucial not only to getting ever closer to securing a postseason spot, but also what it means for Zack Wheeler’s pitching schedule. Since Wheeler starts as scheduled on Saturday, he will next pitch in regular break on Thursday against the Pirates and thus start Game 1 of a possible NL Wild Card Series – also in regular break.
“Yeah, I mean it’s always good to start games,” said manager Rob Thomson. “But it helps us a little. We could always move things around, but it definitely helps us that we played today.”
Even delaying Wheeler’s start until Sunday would have presented the Phillies with a difficult decision. Assuming they wanted to use Wheeler in Game 1, they would have had to either skip that round to keep him on schedule for Thursday and the subsequent postseason opener, use him on Sunday and then give him an extended rest before Game 1, or use him must on Sunday and Thursday before taking a short break again for Game 1.
“Any time you can set things up so that the best people can get going, that’s always good,” Harper said. “Especially in a three-way game [series] Whoever it is against, whenever you can use your No. 1 guy, that’s huge for us.”
Obviously, any of these alternatives would have been less preferable – especially considering what Wheeler has done during normal rest this season.
Entering Saturday, Wheeler had a 5-1 record with a 1.86 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in nine starts on four days rest this season. He was 7-5 with a 4.46 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP in 21 starts after getting five or more days of rest.
“For the most part, we just want to stay on schedule right now,” Wheeler said. “Just so we don’t have to mix up our rotation a little bit or pressure games and stuff like that. So just take it one game at a time and just win.”
While Wheeler was accused of allowing five runs (three earned) over seven innings on Saturday, that statement is somewhat misleading. After giving up two unearned runs following an error by Trea Turner in the second, Wheeler was tagged for three runs in the seventh, all of which came after Johan Rojas – an elite center fielder – misplayed a line drive that went over his Head flew The flags whipped behind him.
“I thought he made a good pitch,” Thomson said. “Look at the seventh inning there where he gave up three runs, it was a couple of balls that weren’t hit very hard for base hits, and then the misreading by Rojas. … But this is a very tough game.”
Regardless of the break, Wheeler gets going at the perfect time. He has thrown at least six innings in 13 of his last 14 starts – and in 12 of those outings he has allowed three earned runs or fewer.
Wheeler has a 3.12 ERA since the All-Star break after posting a 4.05 ERA in the first half.
“I feel good,” Wheeler said. “Personally, I feel good and feel healthy. I feel comfortable out there, so I just have to keep going.”
And keep in mind that this time last year, Wheeler was in a race against the clock just to get ready for the postseason after a season-ending IL stint due to right forearm tendonitis. Not to mention, the Phillies were struggling just to secure a postseason berth – something they didn’t do until the final series of the regular season in Houston.
Things could be a lot better this year – for both Wheeler and the Phils.
“Last year was a little closer than we would have liked,” Wheeler said. “So we just try to win as many games as we can, take care of what we need and control what we can control.”