Wheeler recovers, Castellanos drives in 5 as Phillies crush D-backs originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The first pitch Diamondbacks starter Tommy Henry threw on Saturday was a fastball, up and in, to Kyle Schwarber.
The second pitch was another fastball, not as high but considerably deeper, and it hit the Phillies’ leadoff hitter. He dropped his bat and trotted toward first.
The headlines from a stiflingly hot afternoon at Citizens Bank Park were obvious.
Zack Wheeler bounces back from one of his worst starts, holding Arizona to one run on two hits and no walks in seven dominant innings!
Nick Castellanos drives in five runs and Bryce Harper three; Four home runs lead Phils to a 12-1 win!
However, just beneath the surface lurked a question. Schwarber getting hit by a pitch for the first time this year just one of those things that happens from time to time? Or did he have something to do with the fact that Phillies pitchers had caught three Arizona batters the night before?
The old school answer is easy. A Phillies batter would have hit a pitch to send a message that the D-Backs were not going to serve as live shooting targets. Then the case would be closed. Phillies manager Rob Thomson, who began his professional career nearly 40 years ago, swore that thought never crossed his mind.
“Not at all,” he said. “I don’t think they wanted to hit Schwarber at the beginning of the game. “I don’t think it was intentional, I don’t think (Friday) was intentional.”
Maybe that’s how it’s played today. Just a postscript: Wheeler hit Diamondbacks cleanup hitter Christian Walker leading off the fifth. Arizona reliever Scott McGough returned and hit Edmundo Sosa in the bottom of the inning, literally knocking him out of the game with a bruised left elbow. The x-rays were negative and Sosa is on the day-to-day list. So we’ll see what happens next, if anything.
In the bigger picture, at least for one game, the Phillies displayed the kind of pitching and hitting prowess that occurred almost every night as they won 29 of 35 from April 15 to May 23.
Wheeler has been one of baseball’s most reliable starters since arriving in Philadelphia in 2020. That’s why it came as a shock when he was hit in Baltimore last Sunday, allowing eight earned runs and nine hits, including a career-high four home runs. career. , in 4.1 innings.
Even after all these years, he still takes advantage of rare poor outings to cheer himself up. “Sure,” she said. “You try to use anything as motivation. Last time it was a bad start. So you try to get some things out of it but also move on and move on.”
They asked him exactly what he had gotten out of there.
“Don’t let this happen again,” he responded, laughing.
Wheeler didn’t allow his runner to first base until he hit Walker with a pitch leading off the fifth. Heck, he didn’t allow a ball to leave the infield until Jake McCarthy followed with a clean single to right field. His clean run average is now 2.73.
(It’s doubtful Wheeler threw to Walker on purpose. Not with a perfect game going and the debt, if any, seemingly settled. On the other hand, the Phillies already had a 6-0 lead at the time and Wheeler seems the kind of guy who would put the team first if he thought it was necessary to do so).
Harper, Alec Bohm, Castellanos and David Dahl homered as the Phillies scored their most runs in a game since scoring two touchdowns against the Giants on May 4. It was the sixth time they scored in double figures, but the first since May 15 against the Mets.
Dahl’s home run came in the eighth off Tucker Barnhart, normally a catcher, who threw his eephus pitch to help save the bullpen.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The temperature at the first pitch was 97 degrees… With Saturday’s victory, the Phillies became the second club to reach 50 wins this season, joining the Yankees… They have won 26 of their last 31 at home… Since center fielder Johan Rojas was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Monday, the Phillies have deployed some unusual defensive lineups to help get the best possible lineup matchups. Kyle Schwarber, normally the designated hitter, started in left for the second time this year on Saturday, allowing Rob Thomson to put Alec Bohm at designated hitter and keep Sosa’s bat in the lineup at third, where he started for just the fourth time this year… On Friday night Sosa was at second for the fourth time this year against left-hander Jordan Montgomery, allowing Thomson to keep four left-handed hitters on the bench: Bryson Stott, Brandon Marsh, David Dahl and Garrett Stubbs… Set your alarm and make the coffee. It will be Diamondbacks RHP Slade Cecconi (2-5, 5.90) against LHP Cristopher Sánchez in an unusual 11:35 a.m. start for Sunday’s series finale.
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