Cy of relief? Healthy Wheeler dominates in return

MINNEAPOLIS -- Zack Wheeler is ready to resume his NL Cy Young pursuit.

He pitched like an ace in Tuesday night’s 3-0 victory over the Twins at Target Field. He tossed seven scoreless innings in his first start since July 9, easing concerns about a lower back issue that hindered him for three starts beginning in late June and forced him to miss his final start before the All-Star break.

“It’s Zack Wheeler being Zack Wheeler,” Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos said. “The fastball had a lot of life, attacking the zone, never really fell behind or looked like he got out of sync. I mean, it was a really clean, impressive start from start to finish.”

Was it a relief to see Wheeler so good again?

“I mean, it’s reassuring,” Castellanos said. “I don’t like the phrase ‘breathe a sigh of relief,’ because that would be like expecting something bad to happen, you know? But a great start, awesome to see, fun to play behind.”

Wheeler had thrown off a mound only once in the past two weeks. It was plenty. Despite the layoff, he threw 107 pitches, even after grinding through a 23-pitch first inning.

“When I looked up at the scoreboard, it was already 22 pitches,” Wheeler said. “I remember that number for whatever reason. I guess that’s when I looked up there.”

But Wheeler settled. He finished strong. His four-seam fastball averaged 95 mph and touched 94.8 mph in the seventh inning. He struck out seven while allowing only three hits and two walks.

“I thought he got better as the game went on,” manager Rob Thomson said.

He is 10-4 with a 2.55 ERA, which is the second-best ERA in the National League behind the Braves' Reynaldo López (2.12).

Wheeler’s performance followed Ranger Suárez’s start on Monday night. Suárez announced two weekends ago that he would not pitch in the All-Star Game because of back spasms. He threw the ball better on Monday than he had in weeks.

Suárez seems to be OK. Wheeler does, too.

Maybe their breaks help them in the long run. It not only helped their backs, but it saved some mileage on their arms.

It could come in handy in October.

“It’s not what you want to do -- miss a start,” Wheeler said. “But sometimes, it’s best for me and the long run. We’ve put ourselves in a really good position as a team to be able to take a blow if we need it. If something is bothering us we can take a blow if we need it. Credit to the team for putting us in this situation where guys can get some days off, get off their feet a little bit or miss a start if you need to.

"Obviously, that’s not what you want to do, but at the end of the day, it’s what’s best for us -- and the team -- in the long run.”

The Phillies have won 26 consecutive games this season when a starter pitches seven or more innings. It is the longest streak in franchise history. It is the second-longest streak in AL/NL history, passing the 2021 Astros (25 straight).

The Cardinals won an MLB-record 42 straight in 1942.

The Phillies’ streak continued because the offense broke through in the ninth. It had only four hits through eight scoreless innings. It had only five hits since the second inning of Monday night's 7-2 loss. But Bryce Harper laced a one-out double into the left-field corner against Twins closer Jhoan Duran, who walked Alec Bohm and J.T. Realmuto to load the bases.

Brandon Marsh’s sacrifice fly scored Harper, then Castellanos’ double to right scored a pair to make it 3-0.

Castellanos is batting .272 with 16 doubles, one triple, 10 home runs, 35 RBIs and an .813 OPS since May 19. He ranks 43rd out of 141 qualified batters (70th percentile) in OPS during that stretch. He is seventh in doubles and 23rd in RBIs.

Castellanos’ slow start seems to be behind him.

“I just like where I’m at,” he said. “I like my swings. I don’t think I’m giving away too many at-bats.”

Castellanos’ double in the ninth came off a 101.5 mph fastball. He did what he needed to do.

So did Wheeler.

“Once you get out there and you’re feeling good, you just go,” Wheeler said. “Nothing was messing with me today. I was encouraged by that.”