Zack Wheeler, and some extra-inning heroics against the Braves snaps the Phillies 10-game losing streak

ATLANTA — Rafael Marchán caught Zack Wheeler’s first major-league pitch in 253 days, peeked at the velocity reading on the scoreboard — 95 mph — and had one thought.

“The man,” he said, “is back.”

And under normal circumstances, that would’ve been enough for the Phillies. Given all that Wheeler went through since last August — the blood clot near his shoulder, the diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome, surgery to remove a rib and relieve a compressed vein — just seeing their ace on the mound in a game here Saturday night would’ve qualified as a win.

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Except that the Phillies hadn’t actually won — as in outscoring their opponent — in 12 days. The Skid had reached 10 games, their worst losing spell in 27 years. Somehow, incredibly, they needed more than promising fastball velocity over five solid innings from Wheeler.

They needed three triples, including one from Kyle Schwarber after the center fielder fell down. They needed four RBIs from Bryce Harper, including a tiebreaking two-run single through the left side with the bases loaded in a four-run 10th inning.

And then, after an 8-5 victory over the Braves through a steady rain, they almost needed to be reminded of how to celebrate.

“Slapping hands and slapping butts, man,” Harper said after going from the handshake line to a music-filled clubhouse.

As the 10th-inning rally unfolded, Wheeler watched from the trainer’s room. He had company. The Phillies used six pitchers, from Wheeler to lefty Kyle Backhus.

“We all joked around and just yelled and stuff like that, so yeah, it was fun,” Wheeler said. “Any time you win a ballgame it’s fun, especially after losing 10. It’s not where we want to be at this point in the season, but we are where we are. And now, we’ve got to win ballgames.”

If Wheeler didn’t have enough on his plate, including doubts about whether he’d recover lost fastball velocity that didn’t come back during a five-start minor-league assignment, he took the burden of being the stopper. He had extra time to think about it. The start of the game was pushed back 56 minutes by rain.

“It’s always kind of been my thing over the years is, if we are in a little slump, I want to be the stopper,” Wheeler said. “Even if it’s two [losses] in a row, I want to be that guy. I love being in that situation. You take pride in it.”

Here’s a newsflash: The Phillies scored four runs in the 10th inning without hitting a home run. Trea Turner and Schwarber drew walks to load the bases. Harper singled the other way. And Brandon Marsh followed two batters later with a two-run single.

“That’s what makes a good baseball team,” Harper said. “Everybody trying to do their job and looking in the mirror and understanding what that job is and how you can do it.”

But nothing was as important as Wheeler, who declared his return with 96.5 mph octane to strike out Braves leadoff-hitting star Ronald Acuña Jr. He noticed the velocity reading on a scoreboard above home plate.

» READ MORE: What is Zack Wheeler facing in his return from surgery? We asked two pitchers who have done it.

Wheeler’s reaction?

“Cool,” he said.

There were other notable moments. Wheeler faced 10 batters in three innings and got nine outs on only 35 pitches. He spun sweepers to offset his heat, which jumped up from a 92.9 mph average in five starts on his minor-league assignment.

Was he just playing possum with the lower velocity?

“No, it’s just, 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. The adrenaline’s going. Things matter. And we lost 10 games in a row, so I mean, you’ve just got to go out there and just do it.”

The Braves worked over Wheeler in the fourth inning. Staked to a 2-0 lead on RBI triples by Adolis García in the first and Bryson Stott in the fourth, Wheeler threw 36 pitches and gave up two runs.

But Wheeler struck out Mauricio Dubon and Mike Yastrzemski to leave the go-ahead run on third base. And when he came into the dugout, Thomson asked how he felt.

“I’m not gonna lie, I was a little tired,” Wheeler said later. “Treading water out there. I got a little second wind, and I was able to go out there for the fifth.”

And after Harper restored a 3-2 lead on a two-out single up the middle, Wheeler pitched a scoreless inning to turn it over to the bullpen.

Throughout most of his rehab from a surgery that included the removal of his rib, Wheeler played it cool. He insisted that he would make it back at the same level that he left, even though there are few success stories in coming back from thoracic outlet syndrome.

But after actually making it back, he conceded the emotion of it all and thanked his family and Phillies head athletic trainer Paul Buchheit, who worked with him at Citizens Bank Park throughout the offseason.

“You think about this moment,” Wheeler said. “I just wanted to get it over with, just keep moving on. I’m glad it’s done, especially when you come out of the game, kind of get that weight off your shoulders. But it’s just the unknown. Going into it, you never know.

“You hear a lot of bad stories when stuff happens. You don’t hear a lot of good. But as time went on in the offseason, those good stories do come out, so it makes you feel a little better.”

For a night, all of the Phillies felt better. But imagine if they had lost again.

During the delay, the Red Sox stunningly announced the firing of manager Alex Cora, hired in Boston by Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. Cora and Dombrowski are still close.

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Another loss would’ve only amplified rumors about Cora eventually replacing manager Rob Thomson.

For now, at least, they will be muted.

“It was a good win,” Thomson said. “We played well, and it was great to see Wheeler do what he did and have the velocity that he had and the command that he had. We kept fighting and clawing.”