For the first time since May 17, the Philadelphia Phillies scored six runs in a game. It last came when Paul Skenes faced Zack Wheeler on a Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh as the Phillies looked to sweep the Pirates.
As the Phillies look to sweep another mediocre National League team, Wheeler once again takes the mound during a day game with an offense looking for answers.
Wheeler looked fully back, sitting 95.8 mph on his four-seam fastball over 104 pitches in his seven-inning start. Of the nine pitches he threw
in the first inning, seven of them were four-seams including three that Manny Machado stared at to end the frame.
In the bottom of the first, Kyle Schwarber hit his 18th single of the year (update the Bluesky thread, Joe) and Trea Turner grounded into a fielder’s choice right after. Bryce Harper then took a changeup to shallow right field but Turner made up his mind, rounding second base as the ball was already caught and was doubled up.
Skipping to the fourth, Wheeler once again met Machado at the plate and once again offered a three-fastball sequence. Machado once again looked at the first one for a strike, looking like a hitter who wants to get a sweeper instead. He was late on the second fastball and looked at a third one right down the middle for strike three.
In the bottom half of the inning, the offense finally scratched and clawed. Bryce Harper worked a leadoff walk to start the inning, followed by Brandon Marsh taking a fastball to right field to put runners on first and second. Alec Bohm struck out looking and took a challenge with him to the dugout. Bryson Stott then beat the shift with about as soft of a RBI single that went into the outfield grass as there can be.
The offense kept it going in the following inning with Adolis García, who entered today 8 for his last 75 but has hit a few balls hard in the prior two games. He got a hanging get-me-over breaking ball and did not miss it.
After a Justin Crawford double, Schwarber walk, and Turner forceout, Padres left handed reliever Yuki Matsui made a pickoff throw to first base that wasn’t particularly close, allowing Crawford to walk home and Turner to go to third base.
After a Gavin Sheets walk to open the seventh, Wheeler and Machado met for their third and final time of the day. Once again, Wheeler started him off with a fastball for a strike that Machado didn’t look very interested in swinging at. He once again swung through a second one and the sequence was matching exactly as it did in the fourth.
Unlike the fourth inning, Machado geared up for a fastball and Wheeler threw one right down Broad Street.
In the bottom half of the seventh, the Phillies must’ve morphed into a different team during the stretch. Adrian Morejon entered the inning to try and keep the game at one. He threw two pitches in the strike zone to fall behind 2-0 and then eventually walked Crawford on five pitches. Crawford then stole second base and took third on a bad Freddy Fermin throw that went into the outfield.
After a Schwarber ground ball that forced Crawford to stay put, Trea Turner got a 2-2 fastball that he laced into right field for their fourth run of the game. He took second base and went to third after Harper hit a line drive right at Morejon’s ankle. With first and third with one out, Brandon Marsh grounded a ball to Ty France but Turner’s excellent slide beat the throw home that made it 5-2. Alec Bohm capped the inning off with a single to center field for their sixth run of the game as everyone was still wondering if they were really watching the 2026 Phillies on that diamond.
José Alvarado entered the ninth to try and protect their four-run lead but things got a little hairy quickly. He walked France and then allowed a two run homer off a two-strike sinker that caught too much of the plate.
After a Xander Bogaerts groundout to short and a Miguel Andujar flyout to center, Jase Bowen replaced Freddy Fermin to try and give the Padres one more base runner to put the tying run at the plate. With a 2-2 count and the game on the line, Bowen chased a cutter for strike three.
The Phillies played the Padres six times in less than two weeks and won all of them. They did not see Michael King or Nick Pivetta but they also never allowed the Padres to use Mason Miller. Every advantage counts when these teams cannot muster consistent offense.
