Phillies find solace in Zack Wheeler’s performance, despite season-opening loss: ‘He’s nails’

The Phillies’ 9-3 opening day loss to the Braves on Friday wasn’t just frustrating because the bullpen blew a lead; it was also because of what was going well. Their defense looked strong. Their lineup struggled, but there were some small wins. Alec Bohm went 2-for-4. Johan Rojas took 15 pitches in three at-bats, worked a walk off Strider, and swung at only one pitch out of the zone.

There were bigger wins, too. Brandon Marsh broke through in the fifth, hitting a two-run, 396-foot opposite-field home run off Strider to give his team a 2-0 lead. Zack Wheeler outdueled the Braves ace, pitching six shutout innings while allowing just five hits, with five strikeouts.

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But from the seventh inning on, all of that felt like a moot point. The bullpen allowed nine runs in the final three innings and suddenly, that became the story. The Phillies didn’t feel like celebrating much of anything.

“It was a good feeling [to hit the home run],” Marsh said. “Just to let you know you can still do it. But yeah, it doesn’t really mean much. It felt good, but on to the next.”

Wheeler’s outing, in particular, should be looked as a harbinger of good things to come. He had spent the spring refining his new pitch — a splitter — and used it against a tough Braves lineup on Friday. He recorded his first strikeout of the day using an 86 mph splitter that dove below the zone in the third inning. Ronald Acuña Jr. looked perplexed.

“It was a really good pitch for me today,” Wheeler said. “I threw a couple to the backstop, so that’s always fun. It’s just about making adjustments with it, once you’re out there. I got the results that I wanted with it though. There were two base hits with it, little bleeders down the third-base line, so it was kind of frustrating, but you’re also getting really soft contact so hopefully that’ll fix itself. I was happy with that pitch in particular today.”

Marsh was more succinct.

“He’s nails,” Marsh said. “Wheels is Wheels. He’s a great competitor. It was fun to watch him go out there and do his thing today.”

This outing carried some special significance for Wheeler, who was making the first opening-day start of his career. With his performance on Friday, he became the first Phillies starter since Roy Halladay to throw at least six scoreless innings in an opening-day start. He likely could have gone further into the game if he hadn’t missed a start this spring, but he had only been built out to 66 pitches.

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The Phillies didn’t want to risk anything, which is why Thomson pulled Wheeler after six innings and 89 pitches. He isn’t dwelling on it. There are about 30 more starts to go.

“It was an honor [to make the opening-day start] and I don’t take it lightly,” Wheeler said. “So to be able to go out there and pitch well against a good team, it’s satisfying. We didn’t get the result that we wanted, but it’s a long season, it’s game No. 1. So we’ll get back on track and get it going.”

Considering that the Phillies managed only three hits against Strider, Marsh’s teammates were impressed with his home run.

“Fantastic swing,” Kyle Schwarber said. “Man, going oppo through the wind, putting a great swing on the fastball … can’t say enough about that swing and what he’s been able to do since coming back from injury to get himself prepared for the season. Really looking forward to seeing the year that he’s putting up.”

It was not all good for Marsh on Friday. In the seventh inning, Orlando Arcia hit a double off Matt Strahm that Marsh should have caught, but didn’t. It put runners on second and third for Adam Duvall, who drove in both runs in the next at-bat to tie the game at 2.

“Yeah, I had a bead on it,” Marsh said. “Just went right over the glove. It was a good swing, the ball just kept carrying a little bit. The scoreboard was blocking that wind. It just kept going.”

It was just one mistake, but one that had ramifications.