pitching efficiency – Deeper into his recovery, Phillies starter Zack Wheeler delivered a 2-1 win at Fenway with historic pitch efficiency through three innings and held Boston to its lone run in the seventh.
At Fenway Park, Zack Wheeler found an efficiency that felt almost unreal, setting off an evening of quiet dominance that carried the Phillies to a 2-1 win over the Red Sox.
The night turned early, with Wheeler working quickly through the first three innings.. He needed only 16 pitches to get the job done. an output that was not just his own best through that stage. but the lowest total for any starting pitcher to complete three frames since at least 2000.. The previous fewest in that span was 18. shared by Omar Daal for the Phillies in 2001. Curt Schilling for Arizona in 2002. and Livan Hernandez for Montreal in 2004.
Until Tuesday, Wheeler’s own minimum to finish three innings had been 25 pitches.
He arrived at the game already aware that his form in the bullpen had been unusually sharp. “I think I threw about three strikes in the bullpen,” Wheeler said of his warmup. “So I was a little nervous going out there. Usually, when that happens, it could go really bad or pretty well.”
For Wheeler, it went pretty well.
The numbers told the same story once he faced hitters.. After throwing three strikes in the bullpen. he opened the game by throwing only three balls through the first three innings.. He didn’t even reach a two-ball count until the fourth.. Interim manager Don Mattingly saw the control take on a familiar aura, comparing it to Hall of Famer Greg Maddux.. “You’re thinking Maddux-like at that point,” Mattingly said.. “You know, is it gonna be a Maddux game?”
Wheeler’s pitch control had been trending upward as the season moved forward.. He entered Tuesday with four career nine-inning complete games. but his lowest pitch count in any of those was 108. making the Fenway start notable even within his own career.. No Phillies pitcher had thrown a Maddux since Ranger Suárez, who will start Thursday for Boston, on Sept.. 25, 2021.
For a stretch, Wheeler looked like he might keep Boston from ever fully settling in.. He more than doubled his pitch count in the fourth inning, but the overall pace remained manageable.. He held the “Maddux” out of reach until the seventh. when a bloop RBI single scored Boston’s lone run off the right-hander.
Once the run crossed, Wheeler still controlled the remainder of his afternoon. He recorded another out in the eighth before handing things to the bullpen. He finished with 87 pitches, 57 for strikes, logging 7 1/3 innings and marking his first outing of the season without a walk.
The Red Sox made contact, but it didn’t translate into much damage. Wheeler struck out four, and all six hits he allowed were singles.
“Its a slippery slope with guys like that because he doesn’t walk people, and he’s gonna come right at you,” said Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story. “ … He just got the best of us tonight.”
Phillies batters noticed the pace as well. “Wheels was unbelievable,” J. Schwarber said. “He was efficient, quick.”
The outing also offered another checkpoint in Wheeler’s return to form after missing the first month of the season while recovering from thoracic outlet decompression surgery last September.. Through four starts, he lowered his ERA to 2.55.. After his previous appearance, Wheeler had said he still felt “just a little off.”
On Tuesday, he sounded more settled. “Getting there, yeah,” Wheeler said. “I’m happy where I’m at.”
There was energy in the stands too. A sizable Phillies fan contingent at Fenway gave Wheeler a noticeable ovation when he walked off the mound in the eighth. Boston fans tried to drown it out, but the reaction came through anyway.
“Heard some cheers. Heard some boos,” Wheeler said with a grin. “So, yeah, I like that.”
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