Zack Wheeler shines, but to no avail as Phillies fall to Blue Jays, 2-1

TORONTO — Zack Wheeler hasn’t always looked like Zack Wheeler this season, but he did in the Phillies’ 2-1 loss to the Blue Jays on Tuesday. Facing a Blue Jays lineup that ranks fifth in baseball in batting average (.260), sixth in on-base percentage (.330) and ninth in OPS (.746), he allowed just three hits and one run and four balls that qualified as hard-hit.

It was a performance that warranted a win, but the Phillies didn’t provide the run support to get him one. After combining for one run and four hits on Tuesday night, the Phillies have scored only two runs since Saturday, the day after they scored 13 runs against the Twins.

“We’re facing good pitching,” Thomson said. “That’s the bottom line. I don’t think our guys forgot how to hit. Like I said, we’ve got to dust off, come back to tomorrow, and get after it again.”

Through six innings, Wheeler pitched toe-to-toe with Blue Jays starter Yusei Kikuchi. Kikuchi didn’t allow a hit until the third, when Edmundo Sosa singled to center field. Wheeler didn’t allow one until the fourth, when Brandon Belt singled to center field.

» READ MORE: Dylan Covey has a 2.08 ERA over July and August. Here’s why the Phillie is bullish about his future.

Kikuchi allowed a single and a forceout in the fifth, Wheeler pitched a 1-2-3 frame after that, and in the sixth, they both allowed a run. With no outs, Sosa hit his second single of the day to get on base, and Johan Rojas, who is batting .308 over 24 games this season, drove him home with an RBI double.

Wheeler allowed a two-out RBI single to George Springer to tie the game. He returned for the seventh, allowing a walk and no hits. If there was a downside to his outing, it was that he was walking batters at a high clip. Wheeler walked a season-high four batters on Tuesday night.

“I felt good,” Wheeler said. “Wasn’t my best but I felt good. I had a good rhythm out there, for the most part. I think the four walks and the shutdown inning that I didn’t get was tough. So, if I could’ve eliminated those walks and got that shutdown inning, that would’ve helped us out more.”

“I thought his sinker was really good,” manager Rob Thomson said of Wheeler. “He ran it in on the right handers and got a lot of soft contact. I thought he changed speeds behind in the count and kept them off balance. I know he walked four guys but for the most he was throwing strikes. So I was really happy with his start.”

It was a strong performance, and a necessary one, given how well Kikuchi and the Blue Jays’ bullpen have been pitching this season. The Phillies managed just four hits and one run off of Kikuchi, while striking out seven times. They managed no hits and one walk off of reliever Yimi Garcia in the seventh, and struck out in order against Jordan Hicks in the eighth.

» READ MORE: Davis Schneider using John Vukovich’s old glove ‘puts a smile’ on his son’s face: ‘The whole thing is amazing’

But Seranthony Domínguez, who has allowed more walks this month than he has since April, allowed two walks and a single to load the bases in the eighth with one out. Alec Bohm made a terrific play, fielding a ground ball and angling himself so he could throw it towards catcher J.T. Realmuto to keep a run from scoring. If Kyle Schwarber, who was playing left field, would have caught a Whit Merrifield single earlier in the inning, Bohm’s play would have ended it.

Instead, Domínguez hit Cavan Biggio to score the go-ahead run for Toronto.

“It was a heck of an effort, but sometimes it pops out of your glove,” Thomson said. “He gave a great effort and that’s all you can ask for.”

Jeff Hoffman entered in relief of Domínguez and induced a groundout from Alejandro Kirk to end the inning. But Bohm flied out, Bryce Harper struck out, and Nick Castellanos struck out against Jordan Romano in the ninth inning to end the game. The Phillies went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position on Tuesday and have gone 0-for-18 with runners in scoring position over their last three games.

The Phillies’ top five hitters combined for just one hit on Tuesday. The lineup, as a whole, struck out 13 times.

“You’ve got to not miss the mistakes,” said Bohm. “Because they’re all human. They’re going to throw some stuff over the plate. But it’s still good stuff. You’ve just got to do what you can with the mistakes and find a way to go up there and compete with them. We’re all competitors, we’re all pros, we’re going to do what we can to go up there and beat them.”