Phillies Top Brewers 6-4, Wheeler Fans 11 and Stott Delivers in the Eighth
Zack Wheeler struck out 11 and reached 2,000 career strikeouts as the Phillies rallied past the Brewers 6-4, moving into a three-way tie atop the NL wild card race.
Wheeler Sets the Tone, Stott Finishes It
Zack Wheeler opened by punching out seven straight Brewers to start the game, a franchise record, and finished with 11 strikeouts on the night. He got his 2,000th career strikeout when he fanned Brice Turang to close out the first inning, making him the 96th pitcher in major league history to reach that number. Milwaukee tied it at 3 with two runs off Wheeler in the sixth, but Bryson Stott singled to center with two outs in the eighth to put Philadelphia back in front. Jose Alvarado got the final out of the eighth and Jhoan Duran closed it out for his 33rd save, sealing a 6-4 Phillies win at Citizens Bank Park.
Stott's single came off reliever Colton Gordon, and the play got messier from there. Garrett Mitchell tried to throw out Alec Bohm at third after Bohm ran from first, but the throw hit Bohm's foot and both he and Luis Arraez scored, pushing the lead to 5-3. Brandon Marsh added a homer and a double and drove in three runs for Philadelphia.
A Crowded Wild Card Picture
The win pulls Philadelphia into a three-way tie at 87-70 with the Cubs and Padres for the National League's three wild card spots, four games up on Arizona with five left to play. The Phillies hold the tiebreaker over San Diego but not over Chicago, so every one of the final five games still matters.
Brewers Already Locked In
Milwaukee came in as NL Central champs and left with its October seeding set. Cincinnati's 4-0 win over Atlanta clinched Milwaukee a bye through the wild-card round and home-field advantage in the Division Series regardless of Tuesday's result. William Contreras drove in three for the Brewers, who slipped to 13-6 this month and couldn't add to the 98 wins that set their franchise record on Sunday in a 3-0 win at Baltimore.
Injuries and What's Next
Philadelphia is dealing with Jonathan Bowlan day to day with a groin issue, Jesus Luzardo on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder injury, and Caleb Kilian on the 60-day IL with an oblique problem. Milwaukee has Grant Anderson on the 15-day IL with a biceps injury, Bryse Wilson on the 15-day IL with a back issue, and Joey Ortiz day to day with an abdomen injury. The two teams play game two of the series Wednesday night, with Brewers right-hander Logan Henderson (10-3, 2.51 ERA) facing Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola (7-10, 4.49). Nola watched Tuesday's game from the dugout. He shares the major league record of 10 consecutive strikeouts in a game, set against the Mets in 2021.
Facts per ESPN box score. Opinion is the taproom's.