Phillies ace Zack Wheeler ‘upset’ about being pulled early vs. Pirates: ‘I feel like I’ve earned that’

Zack Wheeler was hot, and not just because of the heat.

Wheeler labored through 4⅔ innings Wednesday night in a 10-6 Phillies victory over the Pirates, and upon being lifted after 104 pitches, he walked off mound as if he didn’t hear the crowd’s obligatory ovation.

“Yeah,” Wheeler said. “I was upset.”

About?

“Getting taken out of the game,” he said.

» READ MORE: Trea Turner’s hot bat sets the tone vs. Pirates ace Paul Skenes in Phillies’ 10-6 win

It was Wheeler’s shortest start since June 16, 2024, at Baltimore and snapped a streak of 53 starts in which he completed at least five innings.

Did the Phillies’ co-ace — the highest-paid pitcher in baseball this season with a $42 million salary — want interim manager Don Mattingly to give him a chance to get through the fifth again?

“Obviously,” Wheeler said. “I feel like I’ve earned that.”

Wheeler said he hadn’t talked it over yet with Mattingly. Asked if he planned to, he said, “I don’t know.”

Informed by a team spokesperson of Wheeler’s comments, Mattingly, who has led the Phillies to a 40-19 record since taking over for fired Rob Thomson, deferred a response until Thursday. It’s the first test of his leadership.

By not finishing the fifth inning, Wheeler was ineligible to get credit for the win. At the discretion of the official scorer, the win was credited to reliever Orion Kerkering, who pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

To be fair, Wheeler had chances to get out of the fifth inning. After getting two quick outs, he gave up back-to-back singles to Esmerlyn Valdez and Ryan O’Hearn. With Wheeler’s pitch count up to 101 and action in the bullpen, pitching coach Caleb Cotham — not Mattingly — made a mound visit.

Wheeler stayed in the game, and three pitches later, gave up a bloop RBI single to Nick Gonzales. At that point, having matched his season-high for pitches in a start and pitching in oppressive heat (96 degrees at first pitch), Wheeler was lifted.

Lefty reliever Kyle Backhus hit back-to-back batters to force in a run. Wheeler’s line: four runs, nine hits, one walk, and 10 strikeouts. His ERA inched up from 2.03 to 2.36.

» READ MORE: Phillies’ Brad Keller on track to return before the All-Star break: ‘It’s a night-and-day difference’

“I thought Wheels hung in there,” Mattingly said. “It was one of those nights that his pitch count got extended early, and he didn’t get ahead in the count as much as I’m sure he would like. He gave up some soft contact for hits that just extended his pitch count. It was one of those nights.”

Wheeler, 36, has made a wildly successful return after surgery last September in which a rib was removed to relieve a compression vein near his collarbone. Earlier Wednesday, before a matchup with Pirates ace Paul Skenes, Mattingly suggested Wheeler might actually be underrated for a two-time Cy Young Award runner-up.

“I don’t think people quite realize how good this guy is,” Mattingly said. “I just don’t think they realize. Within the industry, for sure. But with fans, he’s a quiet guy. There’s not a lot of hype around him. He just kind of just constantly pitches well. And I just want to keep his attention talked about like other guys.”

First, there might be a fence to mend.

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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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