Categories: 2021 Postgame RecapsNews

Disastrous 7th inning hurts Wheeler as Phillies are swept by D-Backs

Zack Wheeler received little help on Thursday afternoon. (/Icon Sportswire)

When a team is struggling to score runs like the Phillies have been, a one-run deficit can feel insurmountable — let alone a larger one.

But down a run late in Thursday afternoon’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field, the Phillies did themselves — and their ace pitcher Zack Wheeler — no favors in trying to keep the score within reach.

A fielding gaffe by third baseman Ronald Torreyes in a 1-0 game helped kick off a seventh-inning collapse as the Phillies lost 6-2, dropping all three in the series against the D-Backs and falling to four games out of first place in the National League East.

With a runner on third base and one out in the bottom of the inning, a ground ball to third appeared poised to turn into a big break for Philadelphia. Arizona’s Christian Walker strayed a bit too far off the bag on his secondary lead, and Torreyes had an opportunity to tag him for the second out. However, Torreyes whiffed on his initial tag attempt, and Walker was able to maneuver his way back before being touched.

Up to that point, Wheeler had been sharp. The only damage the D-Backs had done came on an RBI bloop single by Walker in the fourth. But after the misplay left runners on first and third, the D-Backs got to the right-hander.

Nick Ahmed hit a two-run double to left field off Wheeler, extending Arizona’s lead to 3-0. D-Backs pitcher Madison Bumgarner added an RBI blooper for a single after that. After a walk, Enyel De Los Santos entered for Wheeler, giving up a two-run double to Josh VanMeter to make it six earned runs on the starter’s line.

Bumgarner was effective for Arizona, allowing just three hits and one run in eight innings. He surrendered the run in the eighth on an RBI fielder’s choice by Jean Segura, but already had a comfortable lead by that point.

The Phillies scored another in the ninth off Taylor Clarke to make it a 6-2 game on a Torreyes RBI single and then loaded the bases later in the frame. It was too little, too late for Philadelphia, though, as Clarke worked out of the jam to clinch the sweep for the 41-81 D-Backs.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance

Wheeler’s six-run line wasn’t pretty, but he did get little help from those around him. At the same time, you do wish your Cy Young candidate could’ve still worked out of that messy seventh inning if you’re the Phillies, especially when he’s facing a .226 hitter like Ahmed in a crucial spot.

The left-hander Bumgarner isn’t the same pitcher he was in the early 2010s with the San Francisco Giants, but still provided a vintage performance. He put together a crafty outing, taking advantage of a brutally underperforming Phillies offense.

Phillies Nugget Of The Game

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