Phillies complete four-game sweep of Rockies with 7-1 win behind dominant Zack Wheeler

J.T. Realmuto stood up from his crouch after catching the last pitch of the sixth inning Thursday and pointed his mitt at Zack Wheeler. His body language couldn’t have been clearer.

That’s more like it.

For Wheeler? No question. In his fourth start of the season, after barely pitching at all in spring training, the Phillies ace threw six one-hit innings in a 7-1 rocking of the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park. His command wasn’t as precise as usual. (He walked four batters.) But his fastball sizzled, his slider had bite, and well, he dominated.

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“I came out of the game and felt like I got that little monkey off my back,” said Wheeler, who picked up his first win after going 0-3 with an 8.53 ERA through three starts. “Just to come out of there with zeroes is the biggest thing for me.”

But this was about more than Wheeler. His revival punctuated the Phillies’ overall resurgence this week. In completing a rare four-game sweep — their first over Colorado since July 23-26, 2010 — they manhandled the sloppy Rockies (seven errors, 10 unearned runs in the series) by a 32-9 margin. They also evened their record at 10-10, the first time they have been at .500 since April 13.

That night, the Phillies lost to the Mets at home to slip to 3-3. Now, they are bracing to face their division rival again, this time in New York beginning Friday night. And the Mets happen to be 14-6, their best 20-game start since 2018.

Ready to rumble?

“Yeah,” Rhys Hoskins said. “I’m sure it’ll be intense. It usually is. And it’s a weekend series, right? Really, what more can we ask for? We’ve got Sunday Night Baseball. I know they’re one of the best in the league. We’ll be excited to get after these guys.”

Before that, though, there was Wheeler. From retiring the side on nine pitches in the first inning to fanning Rockies slugger C.J. Cron on that rising 95-mph heater that brought Realmuto to his feet in the sixth, Wheeler looked mostly like himself.

He didn’t allow a hit until Sam Hilliard’s triple to open the third inning. Even then, he emerged without allowing a run by fielding a comebacker for the first out and getting Connor Joe to ground into a double play.

“I feel like that was really my first test, for the most part,” Wheeler said. “I’ve had some tests along the way, but that’s really the one that you kind of pride yourself on.”

Wheeler struck out six of the final 11 hitters, got his pitch count up to 90, and topped out at 96.3 mph with his fastball. When he faces the Texas Rangers next week, the 2021 Cy Young Award runner-up’s arm strength may finally be in regular-season mode.

That’s only about the best possible news for the Phillies.

“Really encouraged,” manager Joe Girardi said. “I wasn’t sure exactly when it was going to come — and I still think there’s a little bit more that we’ll get. But it’s encouraging.”

The Phillies gambled that Wheeler, with minimal spring training, would be more effective than their alternatives, which speaks to both his talent and their lack of rotation depth. But he fought for three starts to harness his command and velocity, as any pitcher might in spring training.

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It’s been a tough April for most pitchers after the short spring training. But with Aaron Nola, Kyle Gibson, Zach Eflin, and Ranger Suárez combining to allow six runs in 24⅔ innings in the previous four games, the thought of Wheeler being Wheeler again has the Phillies optimistic.

“He seems like he’s getting stronger and stronger each time out,” Hoskins said. “The key for today was the way that he finished. He kind of put an exclamation point on it. Happy for Zack, obviously happy for us. Can’t wait to see where he goes.”

For all the attention on Alec Bohm’s defense (he hasn’t committed an error in 11 games, since his three-miscue nightmare April 11), there’s another area where the young third baseman has made a marked improvement. He’s hitting the ball in the air more.

Not including his solo homer in the fourth inning against Rockies starter Austin Gomber, Bohm had a 28.2% fly-ball rate, up from 24% in his first two major-league seasons. His ground-ball rate, meanwhile, has dipped to 48.7% from 52.9%.

The result: Bohm is slugging .500 in 56 plate appearances, even after being robbed of an extra-base hit on a diving catch in the seventh inning by Rockies center fielder Randal Grichuk. Bohm has two doubles, two homers, and leads the Phillies with 14 RBIs. He also is tied for the league lead with four sacrifice flies.

“For me, it’s [about] getting more on time,” Bohm said recently. “Because the ground balls come from me being late and hitting the ball too deep. I think when I’m comfortable and on time, that’s when you see the ball start getting in the air more.”

Making his first major-league start since rupturing his left Achilles tendon last May 29, fill-in center fielder Roman Quinn placed his signature stamp on the game in the third inning.

Quinn, known for his blazing speed, reached on a bunt single and stole second and third base before scoring on a one-out sacrifice fly by Hoskins to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead.

But it wasn’t merely Quinn’s manufacturing of a run that caught everyone’s eye. He got down the first-base line in 3.77 seconds, according to Statcast, tied for the sixth-fastest time in the majors this season.