Zack Wheeler pitches Phillies to a series win over the Padres

SAN DIEGO — At this point last season, Phillies starter Zack Wheeler was on the injured list, resting his right forearm so he could be the best version of himself down the stretch. This year, that hasn’t been necessary. Wheeler looks like an ace. He feels like one, too.

He credits a mechanical adjustment he made entering his Aug. 20 start against Washington in Williamsport, Pa. Before the game, Wheeler tried using a smaller side step. It allows him to “gather his leg, lift it, and go,” in his words. It felt good in that game, so he has stuck with it. After starting the game by surrendering five straight hits, Wheeler settled down, figured things out, and retired 14 of the next 15 batters.

The eye test backs that up. Wheeler’s last three outings have looked effortless. On Wednesday, after recording 10 strikeouts and no walks in back-to-back games, he gave the Phillies six shutout innings in a 5-1 victory over the Padres as they won two of the three games in the series.

He kept a tough lineup off-balance, moving his two-seam fastball and his four-seam fastball in and out, and up and down, to make them uncomfortable. He allowed only one hit, a bloop single that fell between second baseman Bryson Stott and right fielder Nick Castellanos in the fourth inning, and two walks with seven strikeouts. Wheeler was perfect through 3 2/3 innings before walking Juan Soto in the fourth inning.

At a time when the bullpen is leaking oil and starters have had trouble pitching deep into games, he’s served as an antidote of sorts. Wheeler has pitched six innings or more in his last 11 starts. He’s pitched through seven innings in five of those 11 starts and is up to 170 innings for the season.

» READ MORE: Phillies’ Bryce Harper passes on day off, breaks out of his longest hitless streak since 2016

It’s a valuable commodity, especially given the workload the Phillies’ starters have had to shoulder. Lorenzen has far exceeded his career-high in innings, at 143⅔. Walker is quickly approaching his, at 147⅓. Ranger Suárez was activated off the injured list on Friday and is being eased back into his role.

Nola, who is also a workhorse, has thrown 172 innings, but that depth often comes with a cost. He’s been penalized for the mistakes he’s made, allowing 30 home runs in 28 starts. Wheeler has allowed just 16.

“It gives the bullpen another day of rest, really,” said manager Rob Thomson. “We didn’t have to use [José] Alvarado today, we didn’t have to use [Craig] Kimbrel today. We didn’t have to use [Gregory] Soto today. That’s huge.”

Wednesday marked his fourth scoreless outing for the season. Wheeler has allowed four earned runs in his last three starts, hitting his stride at the best time possible for the Phillies.

“I think this is one of the better versions of Wheeler that we’ve seen,” said catcher J.T. Realmuto. “This is obviously the best time for this to be happening. Hopefully, he can stay healthy and keep going and keep it going into the postseason.”

After Wheeler exited, Seranthony Domínguez pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning. Jeff Hoffman struggled initially in the eighth, hitting Gary Sanchez with a pitch, and allowing a one-out walk to Trent Grisham, but struck out Ha-Seong Kim and induced a pop out from Fernando Tatis Jr. to end the inning.

Matt Strahm took the ninth. He got two quick outs, inducing a strikeout and a lineout from Juan Soto and Manny Machado, but allowed a double to Xander Bogaerts and an RBI single to Garrett Cooper. Strahm bounced back, striking out Jose Azocar to end the game. The bullpen allowed just one walk, two hits and one run through three innings.

The Phillies jumped on Padres starter Michael Wacha right away — but not without a few missed opportunities. Kyle Schwarber, who at .195 is inching closer to a batting average of .200, hit his 10th leadoff home run of the season, setting a franchise record. Then Alec Bohm doubled, Bryce Harper walked, and Castellanos singled to load the bases with no outs.

But just as quickly as the Phillies built their momentum, they lost it. Stott flied out. Realmuto and Brandon Marsh struck out. It was not an ideal tone to set for the rest of the game, but they piled on.

Harper hit a two-run double in the fourth to snap an 0-for-20 hitless streak. Realmuto hit a solo home run off Padres reliever Tim Hill in the fifth, and Jake Cave added an RBI single a few at-bats later. With the way the Phillies were pitching, that was enough.

“That was a big hit,” Thomson said of Harper’s double. “Schwarber leads off the game, then we load the bases and we don’t score. We had opportunities after that. Wheeler’s dealing. You know? So those are scary games. So when he hits that base hit to put us up three, I thought that was huge. It let everybody breathe a little bit.”

The Phillies had 12 hits and six walks but went 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position. Their win on Wednesday kept them 1½ games over the Cubs for the first spot of the National League wild-card race. There are 23 games left in the regular season.

“It still feels like we’re chasing something,” said Wheeler. “We’re doing well, but at the same time, we’ve got people nipping at our heels. So it still feels like we’re chasing something, I guess you could say. We’ve just got to play consistent. Play the right way. Try to let that take over.”