Zack Wheeler is ‘full-go’ | Sports Daily Newsletter

OK, so the Phillies are a little out of practice when it comes to this postseason thing. At least they have the good sense to send out an ace for their first playoff game in 11 years.

Zack Wheeler will start Game 1 of the NL wild-card series against the Cardinals on Friday afternoon in St. Louis. As Scott Lauber writes, there’s no overstating how much it means for the Phillies to hand the ball to Wheeler in Game 1 — or how much they need to win it.

“He’s one of the best pitchers in the game, so when you hand him the ball, you really feel good about what the outcome’s going to be,” interim manager Rob Thomson said. “It’s not always there, but you feel good about it going in.”

The Phillies weren’t always sure Wheeler would be ready for this postseason opportunity. He sat out a month after feeling a twinge in his right forearm near the elbow. But Wheeler returned Sept. 21 and threw harder than before. He has built up his pitch count and says he is ready for a typical workload, which is promising for a guy who finished second in the NL Cy Young voting last year.

“I think he’s fine, and we’re in playoff mode now,” Thomson said, “so he’s full-go.”

For his part, Wheeler praised Thomson for his role in turning the Phillies’ season around. “He’s a special guy,” Wheeler said. “He cares about us. He is there every single day way earlier than we are, preparing for that day and days ahead. Anybody who has your back like that, we have his back.”

— Jim Swan, Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

As he waited for the Mariners to trade him in 2018, Jean Segura remembers watching Phillies highlights on MLB Network and thinking, “this is a team that is close to making the playoffs.” It was an ironic thought to have, given that the Phillies had the second-longest playoff drought in baseball, after the Mariners, at the time. But Segura saw potential. It took some time, but so did his own chance to experience the postseason. In his 11th season, Segura finally will get to play in a playoff game.

The big question with the Phillies has always been the pitching behind Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola. And it gets complicated if they advance to the NLDS.

It’s been a minute since the Phillies were in the playoffs and a lot has changed, but not their opponent. Here’s what you need to know about the Cardinals.

Next: The Phillies open their wild-card series in St. Louis at 2:07 p.m. Friday (6ABC). The Phillies will start Wheeler (12-7, 2.82 ERA) against Cardinals left-hander José Quintana (6-7, 2.93)

Furkan Korkmaz had a tough 2021-22 season. He hesitated when presented open looks, missed the shots he did take, and fell out of the 76ers’ rotation. Korkmaz himself was the most confounded by this result, as the shooting ability that got him to the NBA failed him over and over again.

He later learned that it was nerve damage that hampered him throughout the year, leading him to shoot 28.9% from the three-point line as he lost sensation in his fingers. But after a summer of rehab and a solid EuroBasket performance for Turkey, Korkmaz is ready to bounce back from a “horrible” season and show he’s worthy of minutes as part of a revamped bench.

Next: The Sixers play the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7 p.m. Monday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland (NBCSP).

The Eagles have won the turnover battle thus far, tying for most takeaways in the NFL with 10 after four games. Credit big-time performances from Darius Slay, Brandon Graham, and Haason Reddick, among others. And it was also a point of emphasis this offseason because the Eagles didn’t do so well in that category last season.

On special teams, it’s expected that kicker Jake Elliott will miss Sunday’s game. Look for newly signed Cameron Dicker to take over as Elliott rests his ankle.

How does this all add up for the unbeaten Eagles in the beat writer predictions this week? Check them out.

Inquirer Eagles beat reporters EJ Smith and Josh Tolentino preview the team’s Week 5 game against the Arizona Cardinals and Zach Ertz. Watch Sunday at 3 p.m. at Inquirer.com/EaglesGameday

John Tortorella’s first training camp started predictably with players skating and skating and skating until they keeled over. Conditioning was always first on Tortorella’s to-do list with the Flyers, but Thursday marked a shift to the second phase of his preseason preparation.

A day after the team cut 10 players, and one week before the season opener against the Devils, Tortorella began to install and teach his system and the structure that comes with it.

Just last month, the Union were rolling and scoring a historic amount of goals against opponents. One 4-0 loss against Charlotte doesn’t erase all of that, of course. Still, manager Jim Curtin is looking to right the ship in the final regular-season game so the squad can go into the playoffs on a good note and with the Eastern Conference’s top seed wrapped up. Jonathan Tannenwald takes a look at what’s at stake.

Meanwhile, Megan Rapinoe weighs in as the ripples of ramifications from the U.S. Soccer Yates report keep spreading.

Next: The Union host Toronto FC on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+).

We asked you: Do you think the Eagles will come out of this weekend undefeated? Why or why not? Among your responses:

Doubtful. It’s a trap game and since the Arizona Cardinals were in St Louis, the Eagles have struggled against them, regardless of how good or bad the Eagles were. — Bill M.

Since I live in the great Southwest (Durango, Co.) I couldn’t pass up this chance to see the birds, I will be in Glendale. I believe the Eagles will win. Their overall roster is more talented and much deeper. They also have the best lines on both sides of the ball which always gives a team the best chance for a win. PS: Let’s beat the other Cardinals too! — Dave S.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Scott Lauber, Alex Coffey, David Murphy, EJ Smith, Josh Tolentino, Jonathan Tannenwald, Gina Mizell, Olivia Reiner, Ed Barkowitz, Aaron Tully, and Joey Piatt.