Zack Wheeler is outpacing previous seasons with his ‘remarkable’ return from thoracic outlet syndrome
After allowing one run in seven innings against the Mets on Friday, Wheeler has now allowed less than three runs in eight of his last nine starts.
NEW YORK — Jacob Misiorowski has The Heater (105.5 mph!), and Cristopher Sánchez had The Streak (50⅔ scoreless innings!), and Shohei Ohtani is, well, Shohei Ohtani!
But at the midpoint of the schedule, there’s another nominee for the best pitching story in baseball: The Comeback, by Zack Wheeler.
Wheeler gave up one run in seven innings here Friday night against the Mets. And although he got a major assist from center fielder Derek Hill, it still marked the eighth time in his last nine starts that he allowed less than three runs.
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It’s almost like the 36-year-old righty didn’t have a rib removed nine months ago to relieve a compressed vein near his collarbone.
“Yeah,” interim manager Don Mattingly said, “it’s been pretty remarkable.”
Never mind that Wheeler had the less threatening form of thoracic outlet syndrome. It’s a condition that has derailed many pitching careers. Yet here he is, with a 2.03 ERA that ranks fifth among 100 pitchers with at least 70 innings entering play Saturday.
If you didn’t know what Wheeler went through last summer, beginning with the discovery of a blood clot near his right shoulder after an Aug. 15 start, well, you wouldn’t know.
His average fastball velocity is down a tick to 95.3 mph, but he can still dial up 97. (He scraped 97.7 mph Friday night against Mets star Juan Soto.) And he still changes speeds with a sweeper, splitter, and curveball.
Wheeler won’t admit that he’s surprised by any of this. Then again, he couldn’t allow himself to expect anything less.
“I mean, you almost have to, right?” he said. “You’ve got to have that mindset when you get hurt and you’re going to have surgery. You just build out your plan in your head — what it’s going to be like, and where you want to be at the end — and you kind of just tick those boxes off as you go.
“You’re always going to have your ups and downs. That’s going to happen with the human body. It doesn’t always go your way. But for the most part it went pretty smooth, and, yeah, I always envisioned myself coming back and hitting the ground running.”
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Even as he was coming back from surgery and regaining strength after losing “a good bit” of weight, Wheeler said he set the same three goals: “win the Cy Young, win the World Series, and make the All-Star Game.” He could check off the latter next Saturday when the All-Star rosters are announced.
Wheeler was named to the National League team last year and in 2023 but didn’t attend the game either time. This year, with Philadelphia hosting the game, he won’t have to travel. But if the Phillies stay on rotation, he would start the final game before the break, leaving him unavailable to pitch in the All-Star Game.
In any case, Wheeler has never had a lower ERA through his first 12 starts of a season. Even in his runner-up Cy Young finishes in 2021 and 2024, his ERA through 12 starts was 2.51 and 2.32, respectively.
And yet, ever the perfectionist, Wheeler insists his command isn’t as sharp as it can be.
“Something’s still a tick off, and I hate saying that just because it was a good game,” Wheeler said. “But I’m so used to throwing eight or nine pitches out of 10 where I exactly want it. So, when that’s not happening, I feel like it’s just not there all the way.
“But I know things are going well. I’m feeling strong, so I’ll take that for sure.”
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A break for Bohm
One day after grounding into three double plays, as part of a 1-for-19 funk, third baseman Alec Bohm wasn’t in the lineup Saturday against Mets righty Christian Scott.
“He just looked tired last night,” Mattingly said of Bohm. “I thought he was dragging a little bit. It’s just a day.”
Edmundo Sosa started in Bohm’s place.
Extra bases
Reliever Brad Keller (right forearm inflammation) has progressed to throwing a bullpen session within the next few days, Mattingly said. … Andrew Painter is slated to start Sunday for the first time since getting demoted to triple A on June 17. … Jesús Luzardo (6-4, 4.39 ERA) will start the series finale at 1:40 p.m. Sunday. The Mets hadn’t yet announced a starter.
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.
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