Zack Wheeler misses the mark as the Phillies fall to the Marlins in the 10th

MIAMI — Zack Wheeler wasn’t commanding the ball the way he normally does on Sunday afternoon. He wasn’t efficient with his pitches and he allowed more contact than he has in recent starts. There wasn’t a specific reason for this, but that didn’t make it any less frustrating for the Phillies starter.

“I felt great,” he said. “Nothing felt out of whack. So I had a hard time trying to fix it, because I didn’t feel anything. Most of the time when you’re doing that kind of stuff, you feel something, and you can try to make an adjustment. But I felt great today.”

“They were being really aggressive today,” Wheeler added. “I wasn’t commanding the ball like I wanted to. And they got me. I had an off day.”

It was a far cry from the Wheeler who pitched seven innings against the Giants last week, allowing one unearned run with 11 strikeouts. On Sunday in a 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Miami Marlins, Wheeler needed 80 pitches to get through four innings. He threw 30 pitches in the second inning alone.

He allowed six earned runs on six hits, with three walks, one hit-by-pitch, one wild pitch, and just two strikeouts. He also allowed one home run, a three-run shot to center field by Josh Bell, who seems to have Wheeler’s number.

Wheeler normally throws to catcher J.T. Realmuto, but because Realmuto came in with a sore knee on Sunday morning, he had the game off. Garrett Stubbs was behind the plate, and at times it seemed as if they had trouble getting on the same page. Nevertheless, Wheeler owned the performance, emphasizing that it had nothing to do with his backup catcher.

“It is what is what it is,” Wheeler said. “I throw to J.T. all the time, but it’s not the end of the world. We were both on the same page for the most part. It’s just different scenarios where I like to do certain things and he’s just not used to it. This isn’t on Stubby at all, it’s on me. I threw a lot of balls, three walks, that’s just on me.”

Marlins starter Braxton Garrett threw the same amount of pitches and the same amount of strikes (49), but had a different result. Garrett, making his first start of the season after recovering from a shoulder impingement, struggled early. He allowed a double, a walk, and a three-run home run to Nick Castellanos in the first inning, but he retired his next eight hitters.

Garrett didn’t encounter much adversity until the top of the sixth, when he allowed a single and a walk to put runners on first and second with one out. Andrew Nardi came on in relief and allowed a two-run triple to Edmundo Sosa.

Brandon Marsh followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the score at 6, but the Phillies were unable to score more runs from there. Nevertheless, both Wheeler and manager Rob Thomson lauded the offense for its ability to come back.

“That’s who they are,” Thomson said. “They fight. They’re tenacious and they get after it.”

Orion Kerkering pitched a scoreless fifth inning with one strikeout. Spencer Turnbull came in for the sixth, allowing one hit with two strikeouts. Thomson has talked about using Turnbull — the starter-turned-reliever — in both high-leverage spots and in multi-inning appearances, and on Sunday, he chose the former.

How the Phillies will use Turnbull “depends on the game,” Thomson said. “If it was still 6-3 when Turnbull enters the game, he still goes as long as he can.”

» READ MORE: Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto sits out with a sore knee, but Rob Thomson says he’s not concerned

José Alvarado pitched a clean seventh inning, and Matt Strahm pitched a 1-2-3 eighth with two strikeouts. Jeff Hoffman pitched the ninth, allowing one walk with one strikeout to send the game into extra innings.

The Phillies did not score in the 10th inning, despite having the ghost runner (Whit Merrifield) on second base. Alec Bohm struck out, Bryce Harper was intentionally walked, and Castellanos flied out. Bryson Stott walked to load the bases, but pinch-hitter Kody Clemens popped out to end the inning.

Gregory Soto pitched the 10th, intentionally walking Bell before pinch-hitter Emmanuel Rivera ended the game with an RBI single.

The Phillies (28-13) will open a two-game set with the Mets at Citi Field on Monday night, followed by two games against them at Citizens Bank Park.

“It’s frustrating,” Wheeler said. “Obviously, you want to keep it going and get the team a win, but just didn’t have it today. And the guys fought back. That’s what good teams do, they picked me up. Just weren’t able to finish it. We’re in good shape. We won the series and that’s our goal is to win every series. Just dropping one here and there, I’ll take it.”

Thomson was asked after the game if Kyle Schwarber, who has been dealing with a sore back, and Realmuto would have been available to pinch-hit. He said that would not have been a possibility. They are both day-to-day, and will be reevaluated in New York, the manager said.