Zack Wheeler's encouraging return helps Phillies halt slide, by the numbers originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
ATLANTA — It was exactly what the Phillies had hoped for. Zack Wheeler is back, healthy and already helping in the win column.
The Phillies needed the lift badly. The history books in South Philadelphia had been getting too much use lately, and for all the wrong reasons.
Their ace helped stop that Saturday night, turning in a strong five-inning, two-run, six-strikeout outing against his hometown Braves in the Phillies’ 8-4 win over Atlanta, their first victory since April 13.
A major question surrounding Wheeler’s recovery from thoracic outlet decompression surgery was whether his velocity would take a steep enough hit to affect the level of dominance that led to two runner-up finishes in National League Cy Young Award voting since he signed with the Phillies before the 2020 season.
At Truist Park in his season debut, it was hard to see much reason for concern.
“That’s why you kind of take rehab games with a grain of salt,” Wheeler said. “Once you get up here, it’s a different game. Adrenaline’s going, things matter, and we lost 10 games in a row.”
That mattered to him.
“If we’ve lost 10 games in a row and I’m the next guy up, obviously I want to stop it,” Wheeler said. “That’s always kind of been my thing over the years. If we are in a little slump, I want to be the stopper.”
From the start, he looked the part.
Wheeler opened by striking out Ronald Acuña Jr. and Drake Baldwin. He got Acuña swinging with a 96.5 mph fastball up and away, then got Baldwin to chase a sharp curve after getting ahead with a 95 mph heater.
Wheeler threw eight pitches above 95 mph in the first inning and only three the rest of the night. It looked like understandable adrenaline from a pitcher throwing his first big league pitch since Aug. 15 of last year. Either way, it was a good reminder that the velocity is still in there.
Wheeler noticed it, too. Asked what he thought when he saw 96 mph, he grinned.
“Cool,” Wheeler said.
Thomson was not surprised the fastball ticked up when the lights came on.
“I’ve been telling you guys all along, I can’t guarantee it, but I would think that the adrenaline will kick in once he gets into one of these games,” the manager said. “I think the adrenaline did kick in, and he rose to the occasion.”
And it was not just the radar gun that stood out.
WHEELS AHEAD
What should keep Wheeler effective on the back end of his career — whether the top-end velocity fully returns or not — is his command, both with the four-seam fastball and with the rest of his mix.
He used all of it to get ahead Saturday. Wheeler posted a 70 percent first-pitch strike rate. For context, he finished at 61.1 percent last year.
The tone-setter early was the four-seamer. He opened 11 counts with it and landed nine for strikes. That lets him open up the full six-pitch mix once he gets ahead.
And that is what allows Wheeler to dictate at-bats instead of reacting to them.
That was one of the things he liked most about the outing.
“Just executing,” Wheeler said. “I thought I hit my spots pretty much all game.”
SWEEPER SWEEPIN’ & THE CHASE
The pitch is already becoming another Phillies calling card under pitching coach Caleb Cotham.
Of Wheeler’s non-fastballs Saturday — including the sinker and cutter — the sweeper was the one he threw most, at 14 percent.
It had noticeably more bite, and the numbers backed that up. The pitch spun at 2,791 rpm, a jump of 122 rpm from last season. Against right-handed hitters, it also showed a 7-inch increase in drop compared to his 2025 average, according to Statcast.
Since Wheeler introduced the pitch in 2023, he has thrown it at least 12 percent of the time every season, and opponents have never hit better than .200 against it.
It was not a pitch he landed consistently in the zone Saturday — its strike rate was just 42 percent — but that almost made it more interesting. If it keeps that kind of action and becomes more tempting for hitters to chase, it could be even sharper as his starts build up.
Wheeler said the pitch had quietly been one of his better ones throughout the buildup.
“It’s probably been one of my best pitches so far in all the games I’ve been throwing,” Wheeler said. “Spin getting back into things is always kind of the last thing to come.”
The Phillies’ right-hander generated a ton of swings outside the zone. All six of his pitches finished with at least a 20 percent chase rate. His overall chase rate sat at 44 percent.
Wheeler’s highest chase rate over a full season came in 2024, when he finished in the 95th percentile at 33.8 percent. Against an Atlanta lineup that featured five hitters with an OPS north of .850 — not including Acuña — that was a strong sign.
OUTSIDE THE NUMBERS
Wheeler also admitted the night carried more anxiety than he let on beforehand.
“You think about this moment,” Wheeler said. “I just wanted to get it over with, just keep moving on. The anxiety of it, part of it. I’m glad it’s done.”
The hard part was not just the rehab. It was not knowing how his body would respond once he got back into a major league game.
“It’s just the unknown, right?” Wheeler said. “You hear a lot of bad stories when stuff happens. You don’t hear a lot of good.”
And after all the uncertainty, Wheeler made sure to acknowledge the people who helped get him back.
“I’ve got to thank everybody, honestly,” Wheeler said. “Everybody from my wife to my kids, keeping me happy and my head straight. And Paul [Buchheit], we worked together all offseason. It means a lot to me.”
THE BALL BOUNCED THE PHILLIES’ WAY
After the hour-long rain delay, the Phillies’ offense got off to a quick start, and Atlanta’s defense helped.
In the first inning, Adolis García lined a sinker in front of Mike Yastrzemski in left. Yastrzemski dove, the ball got past him, and García wound up at third with a run-scoring triple.
Then, in the eighth, with the Phillies trailing 4-3, Kyle Schwarber lifted a ball to center. Braves center fielder Eli White stumbled, the ball got away, and Schwarber cruised into third with another triple. On the next pitch, Bryce Harper tied the game with a sacrifice fly.
The Phillies entered the night with the second-lowest batting average on balls in play in baseball at .257. If that holds, it would be their lowest BABIP in 86 years, since the 1940 Phillies posted a .254 mark. For one night, at least, a little good fortune showed up.
The game was pushed to extras, and the Phillies turned that opening into their best inning in nearly two weeks.
Trea Turner worked a walk. Schwarber worked another. Harper punched a two-run single through the left side to give the Phillies a 6-4 lead. Brandon Marsh followed with a two-run hit of his own to make it 8-4.
For a team that had been waiting on the big swing too often, the 10th inning was built differently. It was walks, contact and the type of line-moving at-bats Thomson has been looking for.
“That’s what we’re looking for,” Thomson said. “Those type of at-bats where you’re trusting the guy behind you and moving the line. Eventually, you’re going to pop a ball and create a crooked inning.”
Harper’s go-ahead swing was not complicated. That was enough.
“I want to win,” Harper said. “To get in that box in that situation and come through for the team, it’s a good one.”
Coming into the night, the Phillies were batting .100 with runners in scoring position since April 14. They were 3-for-11 in the victory. A step in the right direction.
“That’s what makes a great baseball team,” Harper said. “Everybody trying to do their job.”
At the end of the day, the 10-game losing streak is over. Wheeler is back. The Phillies finally got to shake hands again.
“Obviously, man,” Harper said with a laugh when asked what it felt like to be in the handshake line again. “We haven’t won a freaking game.”
On Saturday night, finally, they did.
