Zack Wheeler cruises, Nick Castellanos drives in five runs in Phillies’ 50th win of season
Final Score: Phillies 12, Diamondbacks 1
Zack Wheeler’s last start was one he’d like to forget. He allowed a career-high four home runs and tied a career-high with allowing eight earned runs to the Orioles this past Sunday. The veteran right-hander seemed to forget that outing on Saturday afternoon as he authored a seven-inning, two-hit performance in the Phillies’ 12-1 win over the Diamondbacks.
Wheeler started his afternoon by retiring the first 12 D-Backs hitters he faced. He ran into a bit of trouble in the fifth, hitting the first batter of the inning and then eventually surrendering an RBI single to catcher Tucker Barnhart.
After the fifth, Wheeler settled in again, finishing his start with back-to-back 1-2-3 innings. Altogether, the Phillies’ ace allowed just the one run in his seven innings while striking out eight batters. He worked six 1-2-3 innings, too.
The offense tasked with providing Wheeler with run support showed up early and often. The Phillies scored two runs in the top of the first and scored 10 more runs over the remainder of the game.
Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm hit back-to-back home runs in the third inning, giving them an early five-run cushion. A Nick Castellanos home run two innings later seemingly sealed the Phillies victory. And just to make sure, Castellanos drove in two more runs on a single in the sixth.
Castellanos’ impressive day at the plate included two hits, a sacrifice fly and five RBIs. He’s now hitting .274/.313/.597 over his last 15 games.
The Phillies win this afternoon was their 50th of the season. Per the Phillies, this is just the fourth time in franchise history the team has won 50 games within the first 76 games of a season. This year’s club joins the 1890, 1976 and 1993 teams by accomplishing the feat.
Highlights
- The Phillies got on the board first this afternoon. Kyle Schwarber led off the first inning with a hit-by-pitch and advanced to third base on a Trea Turner single. Harper then singled, too, scoring Schwarber. Turner went from first to third on the play.
- Two batters later, Castellanos drove Turner in on a sacrifice fly to right field, giving the Phillies a 2-0 lead.
- The first of the Phillies’ third-inning back-to-back homers was a second-deck, 427-foot shot by Harper on a hanging curveball.
- Bohm’s home run traveled 417 feet.
- The Phillies added another run to the board an inning later. Schwarber sliced another double into left-center field with two outs, allowing Edmundo Sosa, who walked to start the frame, to score from third.
- Barnhart’s single in the top of the fifth made it a 6-1 game.
- In the bottom of the inning, Rob Thomson’s lineup got that run, plus one, back. Harper singled to lead things off and Castellanos clobbered his second home run in as many days to give his team an 8-1 lead.
- RBIs four and five for Castellanos came on a sinking line drive in the sixth that was nearly caught by left fielder Jake McCarthy.
- In the eighth, the Phillies added two more runs to the board. David Dahl, in the game for Castellanos, hit a two-run home run off Barnhart, who moved from catcher to pitcher for the eighth inning.
Notes
- After getting hit by a pitch in the fifth inning, Edmundo Sosa was removed from the game before the start of the top of the sixth. He was replaced at third base by Whit Merrifield. The Phillies announced Sosa has a left elbow contusion and that X-rays were negative. He’s considered day-to-day.
- On Saturday, the Phillies announced they signed left-handed starter Cristopher Sánchez to a four-year contract extension, running through 2028, with club options for 2029 and 2030.
- Rob Thomson told reporters pre-game that right-handed starter Taijuan Walker could miss his next start because of a blister issue.
Ticket IQ Next Game
- Sunday, June 23 vs. Arizona Diamondbacks at Citizens Bank Park
- 11:35 a.m. ET
- TV: Roku
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
- Spanish Radio: WTTM 1680
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