MINNEAPOLIS — When he toes the rubber Tuesday night in Minnesota, it will have been an entire fortnight since Zack Wheeler’s last start. He was an All-Star. Eight Phillies were, but only six had a full All-Star Break. He was one of the two. “I just went to the beach,” Wheeler said Monday. It was good.
The break came at the right time for the Phillies, not just because they lost two of three to the lowly Athletics to end the first half, not just because the last of those three was 18-3. Wheeler and Ranger Suárez, the other non-attendee in Texas, both came down with back spasms in the week before the break. Monday night will end a 10-day hiatus for Suárez, who’s allowed 15 runs in his last 15 ⅔ innings across three starts.
“Yeah, I am,” manager Rob Thomson said pregame when asked whether he’s looking forward to seeing the two Cy Young contenders pitch again. “Cross my fingers everything works out. And I’m sure it will.”
The Phillies weren’t concerned about either pitcher’s status when they went down, but they can afford to be cautious because they lead the National League by 4.5 games and the NL East by 8.5. It’s the largest division lead in baseball.
They’ll go to a six-man rotation at some point down the stretch. Thomson estimated the early-August west coast road trip as the time that project might commence.
That’s when Taijuan Walker, who’s been on the injured list with right index finger inflammation since June 23, will likely come back into the mix.
Walker will throw a bullpen on Wednesday in Minnesota, then live batting practice Saturday in Philadelphia. Thomson is mostly hopeful about Walker’s production upon his return to the rotation because of his splitter, which is his best pitch when Walker’s at his best and the main one affected by his finger.
“The velocity’s ticked up a little bit,” Thomson said. “Not to 94 or 95 yet. But the split’s action is a lot better. Command is a lot better. I’m encouraged.”
How long the Phillies stick with a six-man rotation is yet to be determined. It won’t be the rest of the regular season, but unless the Braves force their hand by narrowing the division lead to, say, four or five games rather than eight or nine, they can chart their own path.
That’s for the coaching staff and front office to decide. Wheeler, a creature of habit who has never been a huge fan of prolonged six-man rotations in the past, will approach his outings and the second half of the season all the same. The Phillies have put particular emphasis on easing him down the stretch before ramping him up right before October each of the past couple seasons. Barring something unforeseen, 2024 should play out the same way.
“For me personally, I’m gonna go out there and try to do the best I can every start. Not necessarily hold back or push more. I think that’s kinda when you start messing yourself up, maybe getting hurt, just ‘cause you aren’t used to doing what you’re doing full effort wise or something like that,” Wheeler said. “I mean, you definitely keep track of what’s going on around the league. But at the same time, like I said — trying to win a ballgame, pitch seven or eight innings every time.”
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