Zack Wheeler outduels Paul Skenes, Phillies post another shutout to sweep Pirates

The Phils head home above .500 for the first time since April 7 after posting a second straight shutout of the Pirates.

Published May 17, 2026, 4:25 p.m. ET

PITTSBURGH — The Phillies weren’t counting on a lot of run support against Paul Skenes.

The Pirates ace and reigning National League Cy Young winner brought a 1.98 ERA and a scoreless streak of 16⅔ innings into Sunday’s series finale against the Phillies. Across his two starts against them last season, Skenes used his blazing velocity and six-pitch mix to hold the Phillies to one total earned run.

The key, then, was going to be the other man on the mound.

“You’re not going to really go beat this guy up,” interim manager Don Mattingly said before the game. “I think it happened maybe once this year or something. You can’t count on anything like that. So your starter has to be good, just keep you in the game. We got the right guy.”

Zack Wheeler did prove to be the right guy, tossing seven scoreless innings to outduel Skenes. And even if they weren’t counting on it, the bats ultimately broke through, too. The Phillies tagged Skenes for five runs in the 6-0 win to complete the series sweep over Pittsburgh.

“We feel good. I feel like this is what we knew we were capable of,” shortstop Trea Turner said.

Early on, the heavyweight battle between two of the best pitchers in baseball lived up to its billing. Skenes started the game by striking out the side, and Wheeler’s response was a 1-2-3 inning of his own. Through four innings, they both had allowed just one hit.

“When I was a younger guy, you faced the top-tier guys, [Max] Scherzer and all those type of guys, you had to step up your game,” said Wheeler, 35. “[Skenes is] one of the best pitchers in the game, if not the best, so you got to step it up and match it, or do better, and that was my goal going out there.”

But even before it showed on the scoreboard, the Phillies were working counts and driving Skenes’ pitch count up.

“I thought we just fought him, and that’s what you have to do with guys like that,” Mattingly said. “He’s going to get his outs, he’s going to make pitches, but you got to keep fighting and just keep fouling off, trying to fight to get something.”

In the fifth, Adolis García drew Skenes’ first walk since April 13, and he ended up snapping the scoreless streak, too. García advanced to third on a single by J.T. Realmuto, and scored on an RBI groundout by Justin Crawford.

Turner, who had been hitless in his first two plate appearances against Skenes, punched a single to the opposite field to drive in Realmuto.

“Just got some mistakes, got a little momentum, put some pressure on him,” Turner said. “I think with good starting pitchers, you got to get him in the stretch and make him work a little bit and try to take advantage of that when you can.”

They weren’t done. When Harper deposited his 12th homer of the season into the Phillies bullpen to lead off the sixth inning, the Pirates already had reliever Isaac Mattson warming a few feet away. And after Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh followed it up with back-to-back hits, that was the end of the line for Skenes. He didn’t record an out in the sixth.

Mattson allowed both inherited runners to score on a double from Bryson Stott. The Phillies second baseman also homered in the eighth to pick up his third RBI of the game.

It marked just the third time in Skenes’ 65-game career that he has allowed five runs in a start.

Meanwhile, Wheeler’s fastball velocity ticked up, averaging 96.1 mph and topping out at 97.8 mph. Through his first four starts of the season after returning from thoracic outlet decompression surgery, his heater averaged 94.7 mph.

“Every time out, I just try to bump it up just a little bit more, and eventually reach that peak,” Wheeler said. “Just feeling good, feeling the rhythm, everything feels good.”

The extra zip helped him record four of his eight strikeouts. Wheeler issued just one walk.

“I’ve played with and played against guys that don’t come back like that from that type of surgery,” Harper said. “So it just goes to show how good our training staff is.”

The Pirates thought they had spoiled the shutout in the sixth when Brandon Lowe sent a deep fly ball toward the right field seats. But a crew chief review determined that a fan had interfered by stretching over the railing to catch it, and Lowe was placed on second base.

Wheeler induced a groundout from the next batter to strand him there.

Some strong defense also helped back up Wheeler’s performance. Bohm made some key plays at third base, and Realmuto cut down Konnor Griffin stealing second in the fifth inning.

“It makes us comfortable out there on the mound,” Wheeler said. “You don’t have to try to get everybody out by yourself, let them put the ball in play. It’s always kind of my game. I can get the strikeouts when I do, but at the same time, you’re looking for contact early to try to go deep in the games. I learned that over the years.”

Jonathan Bowlan and Tanner Banks pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings to seal the shutout. With the win, the Phillies’ record improved to 24-23, rising above the .500 mark for the first time since April 7.

“I don’t think that thought ever crossed our minds, that we weren’t the team,” Harper said. “So just got to keep going, keep doing what we’re doing. We’re a really good baseball team, and just got to keep rolling.”

Watch the latest episode

Ricky Bottalico spouts opinions each day on sports-talk radio and the Phillies' television pre- and postgame show. But before all that, he had a solid career as a relief pitcher, even representing the Phillies in the 1996 All-Star Game at Veterans Stadium. With the baseball world set to descend on Philly again in a few weeks, Ricky Bo joined "Phillies Extra" to re-live his All-Star experience. Watch here.

You can also subscribe to the podcast version of Phillies Extra on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Lochlahn March

I cover the Philadelphia Phillies.

Join The Conversation

Community Guidelines