Cincinnati. Zack Wheeler made it clear why many consider he deserved a spot in the All-Star Game. The Philadelphia Phillies right-hander shined with a masterful performance, striking out 14 batters in the 4-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park.
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Wheeler allowed just four hits and one run in seven innings, without issuing any walks, to match his career-high in strikeouts. With that performance, he improved his record to 9-1 and lowered his ERA to 2.28.
The veteran pitcher became just the sixth pitcher in Phillies history to record at least 14 strikeouts without issuing any walks in a game, joining Vince Velasquez, Cliff Lee, Curt Schilling, Terry Mulholland, and Jim Bunning.
His brilliant outing came just days after being left off the All-Star team. On Saturday, interim manager Don Mattingly announced that Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Cristopher Sánchez, Jhoan Durán, and Brandon Marsh would represent the Phillies in the midsummer classic, though he acknowledged that other players also deserved the distinction.
Before Tuesday’s meeting, Mattingly expressed his surprise at Wheeler’s absence from the roster.
“Wheels doesn’t get much national attention,” the manager commented. “When a player maintains excellence for so many years, people tend to focus on the new stars and end up forgetting how consistent he has been.”
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One of the reasons that would explain his absence is that Wheeler is scheduled to start next Sunday’s game against Detroit, the last one before the All-Star break, so he would not be available to pitch in Tuesday’s classic.
Offensively, Kyle Schwarber backed Wheeler’s work by hitting a two-run home run in the third inning, his 31st homer of the season, to lead Philadelphia to victory.
With the victory, the Phillies moved to just two games behind the Braves in the race for the National League East division lead, while Wheeler reaffirmed on the field that he continues to be one of the most dominant pitchers in Major League Baseball.
