Categories: 2024 Postgame Recaps

Phillies’ offense wastes good Zack Wheeler start in series finale loss to Reds

Zack Wheeler was charged with one earned run tonight. (Cheryl Pursell/Phillies Nation)

Final Score: Reds 4, Phillies 1

After the second-longest rain delay in the history of Citizens Bank Park, the Reds and Phillies finally began play tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET. Zack Wheeler, making his second start of 2024, was on the mound for the home team. The veteran right-hander was brilliant for the most part, but the Phillies’ offense wasn’t able to back him up with enough run support to pull out a win.

Wheeler started his evening by walking Cincinnati leadoff hitter Jonathan India. He worked around it by striking out two batters and sandwiching a ground out in between them to get out of the inning unscathed. In the second, Wheeler was way more efficient, getting two more strikeouts and a fly out on just 11 pitches.

It was in the third inning where Wheeler got into some trouble. It wasn’t all his fault, though. Bryson Stott was charged with an error to begin the inning. Wheeler would then hit India with a pitch, and before the right-hander nearly got out of a jam, he surrendered a two-strike, two-out, two-run double to Christian Encarnacion-Strand, which gave the Reds a 2-0 lead. Both runs that scored on the play were unearned because of Stott’s error.

Wheeler settled back into the game with ease over the next 2 2/3 innings, racking up four more strikeouts. But before the end of the sixth, the Reds got to Wheeler with two more two-out doubles by Jake Fraley and Elly De La Cruz. Fraley scored on De La Cruz’s two-bagger, giving the Reds a 3-0 lead.

Altogether, Wheeler worked six innings, punched out 10 batters, walked one and allowed three runs on just three hits. He threw his entire arsenal, including his new changeup, and got 17 swings-and-misses.

As Wheeler worked his way through the Reds’ batting order, the Phillies offense was quiet. Through five innings against Cincinnati starter Frankie Montas, they recorded just three singles, two of which were infield hits by Bryce Harper and Johan Rojas.

The Phillies eventually got to Montas in the sixth. Kyle Schwarber led off the inning with a first-pitch home run to bring the Phillies within two runs. Montas then retired Trea Turner and Harper, but gave up a two-out single to J.T. Realmuto and walked Stott and Nick Castellanos to load the bases, which brought Brandon Marsh to the dish. Reds skipper David Bell pulled Montas from the game at that point for left-handed reliever Justin Wilson. Marsh remained in the game to face the lefty, but popped out on the third pitch of the at-bat to put an end to the Phillies’ best run-scoring threat of the night.

Altogether, the Phillies had just six hits and four walks in their one-run effort, wasting a more-than-solid start by Wheeler.

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