Manny Machado's clutch sacrifice fly lifts Padres to 5-4 win over Phillies

Zack Wheeler Faces a Challenging Day on the Mound

Zack Wheeler, a standout pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, experienced an unusual day during Saturday’s game against the San Diego Padres. From the outset, he felt off his usual form, which was not surprising given that he had faced the same team just two weeks prior. In that previous start, Wheeler had thrown six scoreless innings, but the challenge of facing a familiar lineup twice in a short span proved difficult.

Wheeler acknowledged that he planned to be more cautious in this game, knowing that the Padres would be anticipating his fastball. “I knew I was going to be aggressive with the fastball, and they were probably looking for it,” he said. Despite his best efforts, the day did not go as planned. He allowed six hits and four earned runs, leading to a 5-4 loss. This marked the most runs he had surrendered since May 29 against Atlanta.

“Baseball is hard, and some days you’re going to have days like today, and it stinks,” Wheeler admitted. “But it is baseball at the end of the day, and you’re in the big leagues, so you’ll get hit around a little bit sometimes. And it’s part of it.”

The Phillies’ offense had several chances to support their ace, out-hitting the Padres 9-8, but they left eight runners on base. Meanwhile, Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill ended a long home run drought with two impressive shots off Wheeler. The first came in the second inning, a two-run blast to left field, and the second was a solo homer in the sixth.

Both of Merrill’s home runs came off four-seam fastballs. The first was over the middle of the plate, while the second was elevated above the strike zone. Despite this, Merrill managed to make solid contact. “He likes to swing up there. And you almost have to just play his game and just go a little bit higher,” Wheeler explained. His pitching coach, Caleb Cotham, and catcher J.T. Reamuto both noted that the pitch was good, but it also required adapting to Merrill’s style.

Wheeler didn’t believe that pitching a complete game affected his performance. He maintained that he felt strong and that the velocity of his pitches remained consistent. After a tough second inning where the Padres scored three runs on four hits, he adjusted in the third and became more aggressive. He held the Padres at bay until Merrill’s second home run, finishing the game after six innings.

The winning run came in the seventh inning when Jordan Romano, making his first appearance since giving up a historic walk-off, inside-the-park home run in Tuesday’s loss to the San Francisco Giants, inherited runners on the corners and gave up a sacrifice fly to Manny Machado. This allowed Fernando Tatis Jr. to score easily.

Once again, the Phillies struggled against the Padres’ bullpen. All four of their runs came off starter Yu Darvish. Alec Bohm was hit by a pitch in the second inning, opening the scoring in a two-run inning. However, he was later removed in the fourth due to a bruised left rib cage and replaced by Edmundo Sosa.

“I think it’s pretty sore right now. We didn’t get an MRI or anything, but it’s pretty sore, and looked like it may have affected his swing,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. The team plans to check on Bohm on Sunday, but he is unlikely to play.

Sosa made a significant contribution in the fifth inning, hitting a single to left field that brought in two runs. This was his first hit of the season after entering the game as a substitute. Otto Kemp added a pinch-hit single in the eighth, putting the tying run on third, but Brandon Marsh struck out to end the inning.

Wheeler has decided to sit out the All-Star game this year, allowing him a longer break before his next start. He will use this time to prepare for the remainder of the season. “The break is always nice, no matter when it is,” Wheeler said. “It’s the heat of summer, and things finally might be catching up to you a little bit. So I mean, it’s nice to have a few days off, and do a little reset, and get ready to go for the second half push.”