Categories: 2021 Postgame Recaps

Bats fail Wheeler in loss to Reds

Final Score: Reds 6, Phillies 1

Phillies Cy Young candidate Zack Wheeler wasn’t at his sharpest. He gave up four earned runs, including two home runs to two of the NL’s best hitters in Joey Votto and Nick Castellanos. Still, six innings and four runs is enough to keep a team in the game.

Not with this Phillies offense.

Bryce Harper was ejected in the ninth inning of Friday’s game. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire)

They went 1-for-15 with runners on base. Bryce Harper was ejected in the ninth inning for arguing balls and strikes from the dugout. Didi Gregorius’ 2-for-4 game with two doubles saved the Phillies from getting shutout for the second time this week. The officiating crew didn’t do the Phillies any favors, but that didn’t matter. They needed a lot more than a few calls to go their way to win.

Wheeler cruised through three, but things got dicey in the fourth. In what looked like a routine ground ball to the right side, Miller slowed down while on his way to first. The leadoff hitter Tyler Naquin hustled his way down the line, resulting in an infield hit. Following a Castellanos hit-by-pitch, Votto launched his sixth career home run at Citizens Bank Park to give the Reds a 3-0 lead.

Castellano’s drive into deep left field made it a 4-0 ballgame. Eugenio Suárez’s two-run home run in the ninth extended the lead to six. The Reds were a grand slam short of the home run cycle.

Friday turned out to be the closest game the Phillies and Reds have played all season. The Reds won two games in the series by eight and ten runs while the Phillies won once by 14 runs.

The Mets are currently mounting a comeback against the Dodgers. If they successfully erase a four-run deficit and win, the Phillies will end the night in second place and a half game back of New York. The Braves and Nationals will play in D.C. following a lengthy rain delay.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance

Tyler Mahle: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO, 108 pitches

Mahle is putting together a solid season for the Reds. He’s thrown seven innings and walked none for the second consecutive outing. The Phillies whiffed 17 times against Mahle, but it feels like a lot more than that.

Zack Wheeler: 6 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 2 HR, 94 pitches

Friday was Wheeler’s first outing in which he has surrendered multiple home runs in a game since April 20. He struggled his way through the fourth, but was bailed out by a boneheaded baserunning mistake by Mike Moustakas. Still, Wheeler was able to give his team six innings. The team hasn’t won three consecutive Wheeler outings since May.

“I honestly didn’t feel good all day. [I’m] physically fine, but just a little out of whack,” Wheeler said. “It’s probably the worst I’ve thrown the ball in a really long time.”

They’ll try to start a new streak in his next scheduled outing against the Diamondbacks.

Phillies Nugget Of The Game

Notes

The Phillies’ David Paulino appeared in his first MLB game since Sept. 29, 2018. His contract was selected on Aug. 12. Paulino allowed two earned runs on a two-run home run by Suárez in two innings of work.
Joe Girardi told reporters before the game that Matt Moore will start Saturday’s game against the Reds. Bailey Falter, who has been on the COVID-19 IL since July 20, will be activated prior to Saturday’s game.

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