Wheeler looks like he's on a mission, Phillies win another series

Wheeler looks like he's on a mission, Phillies win another series originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

It was 84 degrees at first pitch Saturday night and Zack Wheeler barely broke a sweat, mowing down the Pirates over six scoreless innings and riding an early lead to a 5-2 win, one of the Phillies’ most comfortable of the season.

Wheeler allowed just three hits and a walk, improving to 5-1 with a 2.67 ERA. The Phillies have won his last four starts and seven of 10 for the season. He’s cruised his last six times out, putting just 31 men on base over 39⅔ innings with a 1.82 ERA and .177 opponents’ batting average.

All of Wheeler’s stuff was up — velocity and spin. He hit 99 mph with his four-seam fastball and 98 with his sinker. The sinker was his best of the season, 96.2 compared to a season average of 94.5.

Wheeler’s sinker has been a plus pitch for years but hadn’t been as sharp early this season. Last week, he attributed it to facing so many left-handed hitters. The sinker is more of a weapon vs. righties and he just doesn’t see many. On Saturday, though, the Pirates started five of them. His eyes must have lit up.

The Phillies (27-18) scored in the bottom of the first with one-out singles by Trea Turner and Bryce Harper and an RBI double from Kyle Schwarber. The Pirates are 2-19 this season when falling behind and have scored the fewest runs in baseball, so jumping on them early almost always means a win. Their only runs came on a Bryan Reynolds homer with one out in the ninth.

Bryson Stott added to the Phillies’ early lead with a solo home run in the third inning and they scored three more times in the fourth on Stott’s two-run single and Bryce Harper’s RBI double.

Stott’s homer came on a low-and-in slider to end a six-pitch plate appearance, the same number he saw before lining out in the first inning. Stott leads MLB this season with 4.59 pitches seen per plate appearance, a valuable attribute for a leadoff hitter. All four of Stott’s home runs this season have been pulled to right field on pitches on the inside corner at the belt or below.

Harper sure seems to be finding his swing. He went 3-for-4 with a walk and two RBI in Friday’s win then reached base three more times Saturday. His double was the kind of swing Harper puts on a ball when he’s going well, laced to the opposite field with fading action away from the left fielder. He’s slumped for about a month yet still has an .816 OPS.

The Phillies have gone 10-4-1 in their 15 series. Only the Tigers (10-4) have a better series winning percentage. The back-to-back victories guarantee the Phils at least a .500 homestand and they can make it a winning week on Sunday, but it will be a challenge facing Pirates ace Paul Skenes for the first time. Mick Abel makes his big-league debut.