Zack Wheeler’s slip in form in fifth inning contributes to loss against Diamondbacks, 6-3

With two mighty swings Monday night, the Phillies chopped an early three-run deficit to one run. Now, what they needed more than almost anything was a shutdown inning from their ace.

Instead, Zack Wheeler allowed a leadoff home run.

“If I execute that [pitch] where I wanted to, it probably doesn’t happen,” Wheeler said of the fastball that Pavin Smith hit for what turned out to be the decisive blow in a series-opening 6-3 loss to the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks. “It’s on me.”

Was there a better snapshot of the Phillies’ first 47 games? They take a step forward, then immediately shuffle backward. A fistful of momentum slips through their fingers. No sooner do they start to roll, they go back to sputtering again.

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So, after Kyle Schwarber and Bryson Stott went deep in the fourth inning to energize 34,040 paying customers at Citizens Bank Park, Wheeler naturally threw a 96 mph heater “right on the top line” of the strike zone, as he described it, rather than up and out of the zone.

If you’re dizzy (or maybe sick) from riding the roller coaster, here’s a recap: Since April 26, the Phillies have won four in a row, lost six in a row, won five in a row, lost five in a row, and won two in a row before the Diamondbacks dropped them to 22-25, ninth in the National League.

“Just got to play better, man,” said Trea Turner, whose RBI single in the seventh inning marked his first hit with a runner in scoring position since April 19. “I feel like we talk about it all the time — win two, lose three; win three, lose four, whatever it is. At the end of the day, we just got to play better, and I think we can do that in all facets.”

The Phillies looked to Wheeler to nudge them closer to the .500 mark. But he gave up three runs in a laborious second inning to put them in an early hole despite not allowing much hard contact save for Lourdes Gurriel’s leadoff homer.

Wheeler also wasn’t aided when Stott booted Gabriel Moreno’s bases-loading grounder to second base. And he threw what appeared to be a decent curveball that Geraldo Perdomo hooked into right field for a two-run double that opened a 3-0 Arizona lead.

“I thought he was better than the [pitching] line,” manager Rob Thomson said, repeating a refrain from several of Wheeler’s previous starts.

» READ MORE: ‘I thought we would play better’: Dave Dombrowski weighs in on the Phillies’ 20-23 start

But the Phillies have come to expect better from Wheeler, especially after lefty-hitting Schwarber and Stott took Diamondbacks lefty starter Tommy Henry deep. If Wheeler had tossed a clean inning, the Phillies offense would’ve been able to go right back to work.

Wheeler conceded as much when asked if he thought he pitched better than the four runs (three earned) on eight hits in six innings.

“To an extent, but at the same time, I had a bunch of chances to put guys away and I didn’t do that,” he said. “It kind of works both ways. A lot of long at-bats, a lot of foul balls. If I would’ve thrown the ball a little higher in a lot of instances, maybe they wouldn’t have fouled it off.”

Overall, Wheeler has pitched better than his numbers. Entering the game, his fielding independent pitching (FIP), a measure of the outcomes that a pitcher controls (homers, walks, hit by pitches, strikeouts) was 2.41 compared to his 4.06 ERA.

But there was nothing lucky about Smith’s homer, which came off the bat at 103.1 mph and snatched the Phillies’ fickle momentum even faster.

“I don’t think my command is what it has been,” Wheeler said. “It goes back to not hitting your exact spots, not throwing the ball high enough when you’re trying to go up the ladder. They’re just able to put the bat on it and give them more of a chance. Just got to execute a little better.”

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Perhaps Turner’s RBI single was a sign that he’s turning the corner at the plate.

“You want to think positively and lean on those at-bats, but at the same time, my first three at-bats [Sunday] and today were kind of brutal for the most part,” said Turner, batting .256 with a .693 on-base plus slugging. “It’s that consistency I talk about. If I can do it for four, five at-bats in a day, then for a week and a month, then I’ll feel a little more satisfied.”

Turner also stole two bases, one more than in the last 26 games combined. But his seventh-inning steal opened first base for the Diamondbacks to intentionally walk Bryce Harper. With the bases loaded and two out, J.T. Realmuto flew to center field.

It took a perfect throw to keep the Diamondbacks’ second-inning lead from growing even larger. And center fielder Dalton Guthrie delivered a perfect throw.

Making his second consecutive start in place of Brandon Marsh against a lefty starter, Guthrie caught Smith’s medium-depth fly ball and heaved it on a fly to home plate, where Realmuto slapped a tag on Moreno, who attempted to score.

It marked Guthrie’s second career outfield assist. He cut down the Rockies’ Ezequiel Tovar at second base on May 12 in Colorado.

» READ MORE: The Phillies miscalculated their fifth-starter plan. Where do they go from here?

Left-hander Matt Strahm will be the opener Tuesday night in a bullpen game that will feature newly acquired righty Dylan Covey as the “bulk” reliever. The Phillies claimed Covey off waivers last weekend. Right-hander Ryne Nelson (1-2, 5.48 ERA) is slated to start for Arizona.