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Zack Wheeler toyed with the San Francisco Giants for seven innings on Monday. When he was done, he had lowered his ERA to 1.64 and the Phillies were well on their way to a 6-1 victory, their sixth in a row.

“Wheels went out and did what Zack kind of does every time he goes out there,” Bryce Harper said. “It was a lot of fun to watch.”

The Phillies are looking every bit as dominant as Wheeler. They won for the 17th time in 20 games and improved their record to 25-11, the best in the majors. Harper looks like he’s in a power surge as well after his second home run in as many games.

With Trea Turner nursing a hamstring strain and sidelined for six weeks, guess who showed up at shortstop for the Phillies on Monday? Bryson Stott has played there before, of course, so he was comfortable sliding back into that role.

Next: Cristopher Sánchez (1-3, 3.68 ERA) is scheduled to face Toronto’s José Berríos (4-2, 1.44) as the Phillies open a two-game home series with the Blue Jays tonight at 6:40 (NBCSP).

— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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Daryl Morey spoke to the media after yet another early-round exit for the 76ers. Unsurprisingly, his priorities remained the same as they were when he arrived in Philly as president of basketball operations in 2020. The Sixers go as far as Joel Embiid — and now Tyrese Maxey as well — can take them. So Morey’s main efforts will be centered on improving now and developing the right supporting cast for Embiid and Maxey.

That’s all well and good, but how well has Morey actually done the job to this point? The Inquirer’s Marcus Hayes grades his performance and says it hasn’t been all bad. He gives Morey a B-minus.

The NHL draft lottery is scheduled to begin at 6:30 tonight on ESPN, and for a change the Flyers are not desperately hoping to hit the jackpot. After a surprising 38-33-11 finish, their rebuilding plan is on solid ground. The Flyers are slated to pick 12th, although they could move up with a little luck. What are their chances of getting the No. 1 overall pick? Read Jackie Spiegel’s draft lottery primer for the answer to that question and much more.

Kelsey McGuire, the director of Philadelphia Blind Hockey, is a finalist for the NHL’s Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award.

Villanova guard Mark Armstrong will forgo his final two seasons of eligibility and remain in the NBA draft, the university announced. It’s unclear where Armstrong, 20, stands on the draft boards of NBA teams, but most mock drafts do not have him being selected in either of the two rounds. With Armstrong staying in the draft process, Villanova will have a third open scholarship to use in the transfer portal.

The Phillies got off to their best 35-game start since 1995. Who finished the season with the best batting average on the 1995 team? First with the correct answer here will be featured in the newsletter.

A) Lenny Dykstra

B) Gregg Jefferies

C) Mickey Morandini

D) Jim Eisenreich

We asked you: Are you confident that the Sixers can make a playoff run next season? Among your responses:

The 76ers need an infusion of young talent, not aging free agents, Embiid needs to get in shape and stay healthy. None of this will happen. — Ted C.

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Maybe Embiid should spend less time playing point guard (bringing the ball up & playing high post defense) and focus on protecting the rim. Always getting hurt? Time for better decisions regarding diet and year round season conditioning. Jokic is also a big guy who always plays hard and stays healthy. And most importantly, he is playing healthy at the end of the year. — F.K.

Well divestment of Tobias Harris will help. Divestment of a lot of other unused players will help. How bout keeping the guys who gave a damn and getting some offensive rebounding help. — Bill M.

Yes, every year we think we will get to the finals and seldom do we. … Each year we make additions and think they will get us over the top. The thing we tend to forget is that all the other teams are improving themselves in the offseason also. And when the newly constructed Sixers get into the playoffs the following year, they are up against teams that are better than the teams we played against the prior year. We lost to the Knicks this year because hustle and the rebounding. In other words, hustle, which includes rebounding at both ends. There are only five players on the roster now who should be there next year. Embiid, Maxey, Oubre, Lowry to play fewer minutes, and Batum, who is an excellent off the bench guy. I would consider keeping Payne as a backup point guard. Use the money saved by dumping Harris and Hield and all the other guys to acquire, hustle, toughness, and rebounding. Getting a third high scorer is an idea that has some merit but must come from a tougher rebounding guy than Harris. That’s hard to find. — Jay W.

I am pessimistic. When I was a young Philly fan I was always optimistic regardless of the facts, but now at my age I am not easily impressed. Ownership and management has historically made too many mistakes. They hired a damned good coach, but did not give him the players they need to go all the way. The Knicks really showed their weaknesses. Success is mostly dependent on Joel’s legs and historically that has been a consistent problem. In the East they can catch up with the Knicks, Cavaliers, and Bucks, but are way behind the 64-18 Celtics. If ownership can start mimicking John Middleton, they can do it. — Everett S.

Episode 3 of unCovering the Birds: Dive into the remarkable journey of Reed Blankenship in the latest episode, as Jeff McLane explores how the undrafted rookie overcame adversity to secure a pivotal role in the Eagles defense. From a potentially career-ending injury to becoming an indispensable team member, Blankenship has shown resilience and determination. Listen now!

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Scott Lauber, Alex Coffey, Keith Pompey, Gina Mizell, Marcus Hayes, Jeff Neiburg, Jackie Spiegel, Jeff McLane, Gabriela Carroll, Josh Verlin, and Colin Beazley.

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