Phillies explode for seven runs in eighth inning following dominant start from Wheeler

Final Score: Phillies 8, Marlins 3

Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi acknowledged Tuesday afternoon that it may still be a bit premature to talk about All-Star candidates. But if he was to entertain that discussion, he’s pretty fond of the candidacy of Zack Wheeler.

“I know it’s a little bit early – we’re still in May – but I gotta tell you, I like what he’s doing,” Girardi said.

Wheeler, who has never been an All-Star before, only increased his candidacy Tuesday, limiting the Miami Marlins to just five hits and one run over seven frames, while striking out 10.

And just when you thought that performance might be wasted, well, the bottom of the eighth inning happened.

Top Plays

• With runners on on first and second in the bottom of the second inning, Andrew Knapp flew out to deep right field on the eighth pitch of his at-bat, allowing Rhys Hoskins to tag up and go to third base. Unfortunately for the Phillies, Nick Maton hit a ball just in front of the plate that was fielded cleanly by pitcher Cody Poteet, who fired a nice throw to first to end the inning.
• If this is the final year of pitchers hitting, Zack Wheeler is one of the few arms that you’ll miss seeing use the bat. The 30-year-old right-hander led off the bottom of the third inning by doubling off of the right field wall. The Phillies were unable to bring him home, though:

• After three hitless innings to start the game, Wheeler allowed a leadoff single to Marlins second baseman Jazz Chisholm, a legitimate All-Star candidate. Chisholm then advanced to second on a botched pickoff attempt by Wheeler, and third on a single by Miguel Rojas. Chisholm was brought home on a sacrifice fly by Adam Duvall to give the Marlins a 1-0 lead:

• The Phillies squandered another chance at runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. With Bryce Harper already having singled off of Anthony Bender, Alec Bohm crushed a ball off the right field wall. Bohm may have actually hit the ball too hard for his own good, as Duvall threw him out attempting to stretch the single into a double. Odúbel Herrera grounded out to end the inning, stranding Harper at third base.
• After Nick Maton reached on a fielder’s choice, National League rules all-but forced Joe Girardi to lift Zack Wheeler in favor of a pinch hitter, with Brad Miller coming to the plate. Miller grounded a ball to first baseman Jesús Aguilar, and slid head-first into the bag at first. While Miller was initially ruled out, review determined that he was safe, which proved to be crucial:

• With one out and Maton on third base – following a wild pitch and the Miller hit – Andrew McCutchen hit a ball to deep center field. While the ball died at the warning track, it was enough to bring Maton home to tie the game. Had Girardi not won the challenge on Miller’s hit, McCutchen’s sac fly would have been an inning-ending fly ball:

• With Wheeler out of the game, José Alvarado came on to pitch the top of the eighth. He struck out Jon Berti to start the inning, but Berti reached first because strike three was also a wild pitch. There did appear to be a legitimate case for challenging whether Berti beat Andrew Knapp’s throw to first base, but the Phillies elected not to. On the next play, Chisholm hit a 378-foot home run to right field:

• Right after the second fan of the evening ran onto the field, Bohm crushed a ball into right field, and reached second this time around. He also brought Hoskins home to bring the Phillies to within one run.
• Following an eight-pitch walk that Andrew Knapp worked, Nick Maton brought the Phillies to within one run with a bases-loaded single into right field:

• Playing in his first game since April 17, Ronald Torreyes came off the bench to pinch hit for Archie Bradley with the bases loaded. The 28-year-old lined a ball over the head of third baseman Brian Anderson to bring home Herrera and Knapp, giving the Phillies a 5-3 lead:

• Jean Segura came to the plate following a walk by McCutchen. Two days after a pretty rough day in Dunedin, Segura chopped a ball into no-man’s-land, right between the first baseman and second baseman and just over the pitcher’s head. Aguilar fielded it and fired home, but it was wide of catcher Sandy Leon, allowing Maton to score.
• The damage wasn’t finished with Segura, though. Harper came up next and brought two more runs home with an RBI single into right field:

• In the top of the ninth, Héctor Neris retired the Marlins in order, securing the 22nd victory of the season for the Phillies.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance

• Caleb Poteet pitched to contact very effectively Tuesday. Across five innings, he only struck out three batters, but he was able to limit the Phillies to just three hits and zero runs.
• Zack Wheeler notched his 10th career double-digit strikeout game Tuesday, limiting the Marlins to just five hits and one run in seven innings. Had this game been played in an American League park, there’s a very real chance that Wheeler would have come back out for the eighth inning, given that he had only thrown 92 pitches.

Postgame Notes

Ticket IQ Next Game

• Wednesday, May 19 vs. Miami Marlins at 7:05 p.m. ET
• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP

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