Phillies waste a solid Zack Wheeler outing in a 10th-inning collapse against the Cubs

When the Phillies swept the Marlins in Miami just before the All-Star break, they were playing pristine baseball. They committed no errors during that series. In their first game, they gutted out a 2-1 win despite an uncharacteristically shaky performance from closer Seranthony Domínguez. That didn’t feel like an outcome that was possible earlier in the season.

In their first two games against the Cubs — a team that they, theoretically, have no business losing to — they’ve looked like the Phillies that went 10-18 in May. After a 15-2 loss on Friday night, they wasted a one-run performance from their starter Zack Wheeler on Saturday night, only recording six hits and two runs. When the game into extra innings, they collapsed en route to a 6-2 loss.

In the top of the 10th, with Cubs shortstop Nico Hoerner on third base, Frank Schwindel hit a ball that bounced high toward third baseman Alec Bohm. He jumped to catch it and fired home to catcher J.T. Realmuto, but his throw was wide, and Hoerner scored to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead.

The Cubs — who entered this series with a record of 35-57 — ended up scoring five runs that inning. In the next at-bat, David Bote hit a double that deflected off Bohm’s glove. All of the runners were safe.

Then came an RBI single, a fielding error from Bohm that scored two runs, and an RBI double. It was not the brand of baseball we’ve been accustomed to seeing from this team in the Rob Thomson era.

“I think the ball down the line, that was a tough play,” Thomson said. “He did everything he could to get there. But I think the ball to his glove side, Alec would probably say, ‘I should have made that play.’ And he’s made that play plenty of times. He’s been playing great lately. Even the play in the 10th, the chopper to third where he came to the plate, it was actually a good play, he just pulled the throw a little bit to J.T.’s throwing side. So I think normally he makes that play.”

This wouldn’t be as big of a deal in April, but after the All-Star break, every game counts for a team in playoff contention. The Phillies are fortunate that they have a soft schedule for these last 68 games, but the team with which they are competing for the third NL wild-card spot, the Cardinals, has an even softer schedule. So beating up on teams that are below .500 when you can is especially important.

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With Saturday’s loss, the Phillies are 49-45. After one more game against the Cubs on Sunday, they face the Braves for a three-game set at home starting Monday. After that, three of their next four series are against teams with losing records. Whether they will capitalize on them remains to be seen.

It’s hard to miss the Phillies’ 2022 mantra as you walk into Citizens Bank Park. It used to be “Ring the Bell,” but after they signed Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos, “Ring the Bell” was replaced by “Smash the Bell.” You can find “Smash the Bell” on the banners lining Darien Street and Pattison Avenue. It’s outside the ballpark, inside the ballpark, in hype videos, and on bobblehead collections.

It’s ironic that this message literally is everywhere because 94 games into the season, it’s the Phillies’ pitching that has gotten them within playoff contention. If anything, the bats have held them back. That was no different Saturday night.

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What was made this loss sting worse was that Wheeler put his team in a good position to win. After allowing a solo home run in the second inning to Hoerner, he bounced back well, allowing no runs over his next five innings of work. The night before, the Phillies allowed 15 runs between starter Kyle Gibson and the four relievers (and one backup catcher) who followed him. Saturday’s game, on the other hand, was entirely winnable. The Phillies would only have had to score two runs to win in regulation. But they only managed one.

Their closest opportunity game in the bottom of the seventh inning. Darick Hall started things off with a hard-hit double, and Realmuto drove him home with a hard-hit single. Bryson Stott walked to put runners on first and second with no outs. But Didi Gregorius struck out, and Bohm grounded into a double play to end the inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, Matt Vierling hit a double to start things off, but the top of the order wilted behind him. Schwarber struck out, Rhys Hoskins grounded out, and Castellanos struck out. Inning over.

“We haven’t swung the bats,” Hoskins said. “That’s it, plain and simple. We haven’t gotten a whole lot going at the top of the lineup, just getting guys on base like we have been. And you’ve got to get guys on base if you want to score runs in bunches. So, yeah, look, obviously it hasn’t gone the way we want it to start out the gate. But it’s two games. It’s two games. We’re not going to panic in here. We’ve got a chance to salvage the series, gain some momentum going into the Braves. Big one tomorrow.”

The Phillies decided to give Wheeler an extra day of rest following the All-Star break, and on Saturday, it seemed to pay off. The right-handed starter was coming off of his worst start of the season, in which he allowed seven hits, six earned runs, and one walk in 4⅔ innings in Toronto.

On Saturday, he didn’t find much trouble aside from the Hoerner solo homer. He allowed three hits, one earned run, and no walks with six strikeouts over seven innings. He did run his pitch count a bit; Wheeler threw 106 pitches, 69 of them strikes.

Domínguez hadn’t looked like himself in his past two outings. On July 10 in St. Louis, he allowed an earned run — his second of the month, which is the most earned runs he’d allowed in a month since April, when he allowed three. On July 15 in Miami, he walked three batters for the first time all season.

Domínguez is missed all of 2020 and most of 2021 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, so it was fair to worry if the Phillies perhaps had pushed him a little bit too hard. But on Saturday night, he looked like he was back to his normal self. He struck out two of the Cubs’ best hitters — Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ — and induced a groundout from Hoerner for a quick 1-2-3 inning.

Before Saturday’s game, Thomson said that if Castellanos kept hitting the ball hard, he would keep his spot at the top of the lineup. And Castellanos, to his credit, made the second-hardest contact of the night — a 104.9 mph lineout to right field in the first inning. But for the second night in a row, he went 0-for-4, which is not what you want to see from your $100 million man. Castellanos is now batting .179/.207/.250 over his last seven games.

Castellanos heard some boos in the eighth inning, and when he was asked about it by NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury, Castellanos got defensive.

“Come on man, that’s a stupid question,” he said. “Can anybody else answer that for him [why it’s a stupid question?] Of course [I heard them]. What do the boos feel like? It is what it is, man.”

“I mean, it’s just different,” Castellanos said when he was asked whether there is a lot pressure to play in Philadelphia. “It’s very similar to my first year in Cincinnati. New organization, new faces, new philosophies, new city, new energy. New fan base. It’s nothing that I can’t adapt to.”

Castellanos said he will hit wherever. He said he doesn’t feel like where he hits in the lineup impacts how he hits.