The Philadelphia Phillies got over .500 and moved into second place in the NL East on Sunday, following a sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the process, they would deliver Paul Skenes one of the worst losses of his career and snap two of his impressive streaks of pitching success.
The Phillies would add a couple of runs in the fifth inning against Skenes, breaking a scoreless tie in a pitcher’s duel against Zack Wheeler. Then, in the sixth inning, the Phillies poured it on Skenes, as Bryce Harper hit a home run to centerfield. After an Alec Bohm single and a Brandon Marsh double put runners on second and third, Skenes was pulled.
Two batters later, Bryson Stott drove in both of those runners to make the game 5-0 (he’d later hit a solo shot to make it 6-0, the game’s final score). Both of those runners were charged to Skenes, matching his career high for earned runs allowed in a game with five.
The game also snapped two major streaks for Skenes. He had a streak of 39 innings without issuing a walk, which was the longest since Bob Friend in 1963. Adolis Garcia drew a walk in the fifth inning. Then, Skenes had a 20-scoreless inning streak. Again, that ended in the fifth.
Philadelphia Phillies Starting Pitcher Zach Wheeler Outdueled Paul Skenes
GettyPhiladelphia Phillies SP Zack Wheeler
Across from Paul Skenes on Sunday was one of the best veteran pitchers in baseball, Zack Wheeler. The Philadelphia Phillies ace was at the top of his game, too, as he outdueled Skenes.
“I felt good today,” Wheeler said after the game. “It was nice to have the weather like it was. That helps. Everything kind of combined. The weather and always feeling good, you start the game ready to go.”
Wheeler finished the day pitching 7.0 scoreless innings. In the process, he gave up just 4 hits, 1 walk, and racked up 8 strikeouts.
“Anytime we can get some runs up there, no matter what it is, it helps us relax a little bit,” Wheeler said. “We just got to go out there that next inning and give the shutdown inning every single time we score.”
For Wheeler, this was just the fifth start of the season. He had been dealing with a right upper extremity blood clot since last Summer. Ultimately, he would need season-ending thoracic outlet decompression surgery, which his recovery from extended into the 2026 regular season. Despite that, interim manager Don Mattingly has seen excellent growth in his return.
“Everything’s been trending in the right direction,” Mattingly said. “His numbers early were similar to the years before, where he was at that part of the season, so he’s still climbing and building.”
Wheeler’s start came in what was an excellent weekend for the Phillies. The night before, Cristopher Sanchez pitched a complete game shutout. With the Phillies’ bullpen finishing the job on Sunday, it made for back-to-back shutouts for Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Phillies Have Been Excellent Under Don Mattingly
GettyPhiladelphia Phillies manager Don Mattingly
Coming into the season, the Philadelphia Phillies were in win-now mode. Several older players, including Zack Wheeler, are playing pivotal roles for the Phillies. The question is, for how much longer will their championship window stay open? So, it wasn’t a massive surprise when the Phillies fired manager Rob Thomson amid a very difficult start.
To replace Thomson, the Phillies turned to veteran Don Mattingly as their interim manager. Since then, they managed to take off and become one of the best teams in baseball.
At the time Mattingly took over, the Phillies were 9-19. After sweeping the Pirates, they’re 24-23. That’s a 15-4 record since the managerial change. In the process, they’ve moved over .500 and into second place in the NL East.
The Atlanta Braves are still 8.0 games ahead of the Phillies in the NL East. However, with plenty of season to go, Philadelphia is right back in the playoff hunt.
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