The Philadelphia Phillies have a lot to celebrate these days. The team has been rolling since Don Mattingly took over. They are clawing their way closer to the Atlanta Braves and the top of the division, and the All-Star game is about to be hosted at Citizens Bank Park with one of their aces, starting pitcher Cristopher Sánchez, possibly in line to start the game.
However, despite beating the Pirates 10-6 on Wednesday, not everything was copacetic for everyone on the Phillies. Zack Wheeler and Paul Skenes faced off in what was supposed to be a pitchers’ duel, but what ended up with the two aces laboring through their starts in the intense heat.
Still, the competitor in Wheeler couldn’t help but be miffed when Mattingly came to take the ball from him with two outs in the fifth.
Earned the Opportunity
Every top-of-the-line starting pitcher wants to finish what they started in a game, and Wheeler is no different. Despite allowing 9 hits and three runs through 4 ⅔ innings and having 104 pitches, Wheeler wanted to finish the inning.
Wheeler let reporters know after the game that he was upset with Don Mattingly’s decision to pull him and felt he had earned the opportunity to finish the game.
Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia wrote about the interaction in his July 1 article.
“I felt upset,” Wheeler said.
“Why?” Salisbury wrote.
“Getting taken out of the game,” Wheeler said.
“He wanted the opportunity to get one more out and complete five innings,” Salisbury wrote.
“Obviously,” Wheeler said. “I feel like I’ve earned that.”
The extra earned run by Phillies reliever Kyle Backhus, who replaced Wheeler didn’t help matters.
Wheeler was stern in saying that Mattingly had not discussed the matter. However, Mattingly appears to harbor no hard feelings.
Long Season
Don Mattingly knew his decision to pull Wheeler would not be a popular one with him, but his main goal was to think about longevity over the course of the season, rather than just an early July game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Tim Kelly of OCNJ Daily wrote about Mattingly’s decision.
“From my standpoint, I gotta protect, not necessarily him, but he’s at 105 in that inning. If he has a 10-pitch at-bat, he’s at 115 in the fifth inning,” Mattingly said. “This is a long-term kind of situation. I think you guys know, our rotation is obviously a great rotation, but the depth of it is not just filled with four [Paul] Skenes down in the minor leagues ready to pop in and fill the spot. So my job is to make sure that this guys stay available through the course of the season. And we’ve got a long way to go.”
The Phillies are thinking long term now, realizing that with this rotation, they can make a serious run at the postseason this year, and Wheeler’s health will be paramount to making that a reality.
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