Wheeler and Harper lead Phillies to two wins for the price of one

Wheeler and Harper lead Phillies to two wins for the price of one. Originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

MILWAUKEE — For a manager in need of a win, there are few better feelings than putting his ace’s name on the lineup, and there hasn’t been an ace in baseball over the past five seasons who has been as consistent or as dominant as Zack Wheeler.

Start after start, month after month, year after year, Wheeler was there when the Phillies needed him. Sometimes it was to stop a losing streak. Sometimes it was to extend a winning streak. Sometimes it was to set the tone for a series. Sometimes it was to win a series.

Wheeler led the Phillies to a 5-1 victory on Tuesday night, a huge result since it was essentially two wins for the price of one, and extended their lead over the Brewers to five games – four plus the tiebreaker.

With this victory, the Phillies have won the season series against Milwaukee. They are 91-60 and five games ahead of the Brewers with 11 games remaining. This puts the Phillies in an excellent position to secure at least a top-two spot and a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

The Phils also won a game against the Dodgers, who surprisingly suffered a tough loss in Miami. They lead the Dodgers by three games, giving them the best playoff position ever – two plus tiebreakers.

Bryce Harper gave Wheeler the winning run with a two-run home run off Frankie Montas in the sixth inning of a tied game. It was Harper’s third in four games and his 29th of the season.

Nick Castellanos got them on the scoreboard early with a home run to center in the second inning, his 21st of the year. It was a welcome sign for a player who had a .178 batting average in his last 13 games and a .114 batting average against starting pitchers in September.

The Brewers were held in check by Wheeler for most of the evening. He threw seven innings with one runworked his way forward, missed batters, threw his four-seamer just above the zone for strikes and whiffs, froze batters with two-seamers, caused weak contact… did all the things he normally does.

The only inning in which Milwaukee posed a threat was the bottom of the fourth, when William Contreras hit a single and Garrett Mitchell brought him in for a triple with one out. Wheeler struck out the next batter, Willy Adames, on three pitches and ended the inning with a flyout to right.

Wheeler is 16-6 with a 2.56 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP after 30 starts. He has allowed the lowest hit and baserunner rates in the National League. He has 205 strikeouts and 49 walks in 186⅔ innings. This was his best regular season as a Phillie.

He’s probably still the Cy Young runner-up today behind Chris Sale, who is 17-3 with a 2.35 ERA and 219 strikeouts, leading the NL in every category. But if Sale steps into the spotlight once or twice in his final two starts and Wheeler gives the Phillies two more like that, the numbers and the race will even out.

Aside from having Wheeler on the mound, manager Rob Thomson also knew he had to work with a rested bullpen. Matt Strahm hadn’t pitched since last Wednesday, Carlos Estevez and Jeff Hoffman since Saturday, and Orion Kerkering since Sunday. They are the Phillies’ four main relievers and all have ERAs between 1.76 and 2.03.

Wheeler turned the ball over to the bullpen with a three-run lead after Kyle Schwarber singled to bring home the returning Edmundo Sosa in the seventh inning. Trea Turner brought in another run with a two-out single in the ninth inning after Johan Rojas walked and stole second base.

The Phillies have a 9-2 record this season against the Dodgers and Brewers, the teams with the second and third best records. Against the other five teams currently in the NL playoffs, they have a 23-10 record, with the Padres having the second-best record at 20-20.

Wednesday night offers a chance to win the series and for Aaron Nola to find his rhythm before the playoffs after allowing 11 runs in his last nine innings.