Zack Wheeler doesn't allow hit to Padres until sixth, then sweeping Phillies break 4-run threshold for first time since May 18
· Yahoo Sports
The Philadelphia Phillies came into Thursday's series finale against the San Diego Padres having not scored more than four runs in a game since May 18. It had been 17 days.
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In large part thanks to a revitalized Phillies pitching staff, the team went 7-6 in that 13-game span, which included reigning NL Cy Young Award runner-up Cristopher Sánchez stretching his scoreless innings streak to 50 2/3 innings. That run from Sánchez broke a 115-year-old franchise record and gave him the most consecutive scoreless innings spun by an MLB left-handed pitcher in a single season since the mound moved to its current distance in 1893.
On Thursday at home against the Padres, the Phillies got superb pitching and a long-awaited burst of offense.
Right-hander Zack Wheeler, another Philadelphia ace, didn't allow a hit until the sixth inning against the Padres. While he eventually gave up a two-run homer in the seventh, the Phillies staved off a potential comeback with a three-run seventh. Philadelphia (33-29) held on for a 6-4 victory, completing a sweep of San Diego (32-29) for the second time in eight days.
And, so, the Phillies finally broke the four-run threshold.
Wheeler bounced back from an uncharacteristically rough outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 29. In that loss, he gave up four home runs. Before that start, he had only conceded on big fly all season.
That said, Thursday did mark just his eighth major-league start since returning from thoracic outlet decompression surgery. He wound up tying his season high with eight strikeouts, a punchout total he'd logged twice before this spring.
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Wheeler threw 104 pitches, 69 of them strikes in the win over the Padres. He allowed only two hits, and only one cost him. After issuing a four-pitch walk to Gavin Sheets, Wheeler left an 0-2 fastball over the plate. Manny Machado feasted on it, launching a 435-foot dinger to left-center field.
Fortunately for the Phillies, they had more offense in the tank on Thursday.
Earlier in the afternoon, Philadelphia had staked itself to a 3-0 advantage, courtesy of an RBI single from Bryson Stott in the fourth inning and a pair of runs in the fifth, the first provided by an Adolis García solo shot to left-center.
But in the seventh, the Phillies bolstered a then-3-2 lead with a trio of more runs. Their baserunning came in handy. Justin Crawford scored on a Trea Turner single after swiping second and then advancing to third on a throw-down error. Then Turner stole second, and Bryce Harper reached base on an infield single. Both ended up scoring, with Harper racing home on an Alec Bohm RBI single.
Jackson Merrill delivered the Padres a two-run tater in the ninth; however, José Alvarado eventually secured the victory and the sweep for a Phillies team that mixed another masterful pitching performance with a welcomed offensive flurry.