Grand slam, lack of run support dooms Wheeler in loss to Pirates

Final Score: Pirates 9, Phillies 2

The line score says otherwise, but Zack Wheeler pitched another gem — and was the losing pitcher for a third straight start in a 9-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.

The Phillies ace struck out 10 batter over five innings, but after an error from Alec Bohm, a walk and a single, the bases were loaded with nobody out in the sixth. Manager Rob Thomson opted to let Wheeler battle, but he surrendered a grand slam home run to Jack Suwinski on a curveball that caught the barrel. Wheeler’s final line score was five innings, five hits, five runs, four earned runs, three walks and 10 strikeouts.

It didn’t get any better for the Phillies. Seranthony Dominguez struck out the first two batters he faced, then allowed a home run to catcher Joey Bart. Brandon Marsh let a ball go by him in left field for a two-base error and a run scored on a J.T. Realmuto passed ball. Overall, it was a pretty sloppy effort for the Phillies, who need to play more consistent baseball with two bad teams, the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox, coming to town next.

Highlights

• Trea Turner’s first home run of the season gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third. He went 3-for-4 with two RBIs.

• Marsh tripled in the fourth. He now has six extra-base hits this season.
• Wheeler struck out four consecutive batters from the end of the fourth through the fifth inning.
• Former Phillie Andrew McCutchen crushed his 300th career home run against Ricardo Pinto in the ninth inning.

Notes

• The first run from Pittsburgh in the fourth was originally scored a stolen base, E2 and an unearned run following an errant throw by Realmuto. The official scorer changed it to a double steal. Of Wheeler’s five runs allowed in the game, four are earned.
• The Phillies grounded into three double plays on Sunday.
• The announced attendance, 44,568, is the largest home crowd of the year so far for the Phillies.
• The Phillies (8-8) are .500 for the fifth time this season.

Ticket IQ Next Game

• Monday, April 15 vs. Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park
• 6:40 p.m. EST
• NBC Sports Philadelphia
• 94 WIP

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