Zack Wheeler helps deal a 9-3 Phillies win against Rockies

In his previous start, last Tuesday in Chicago, Zack Wheeler held the White Sox hitless through the first two innings, only to allow four runs on six consecutive hits to open the third. Wheeler later said that he felt some tightness in his back but didn’t feel there was much cause for concern. He got treatment between innings and was able to pitch through the fifth to earn his first win of the season

That context seemed relevant on Sunday, when a similar scene unfolded in the Phillies’ 9-3 win over the Colorado Rockies.

Wheeler allowed just one walk through his first three innings. He struck out seven of the 10 batters he faced, matching his season-high for strikeouts. But again, things spiraled about halfway through his outing.

Wheeler opened the fourth inning by loading the bases on two soft singles and a walk. After a strikeout, a run scored when he hit Yonathan Daza with a pitch, followed by a sacrifice fly by Harold Castro and an RBI single by Ezequiel Tovar before an inning-ending strikeout.

» READ MORE: Nick Castellanos homers twice, Cristian Pache adds another as Phillies top Rockies

In all, Wheeler allowed three earned runs in his 31-pitch fourth inning. He bounced back to pitch the fifth and the sixth innings, allowing just one walk over that span. But overall, it was an uncharacteristic outing for him. He left after after the sixth inning, with a line that included three hits, three earned runs, three walks, 11 strikeouts, with one wild pitch and one hit batsman.

Despite that, Wheeler did induce 23 swings-and-misses, a season-high for the pitching staff. He posted his 17th career double-digit strikeout game. But he is struggling to carry momentum throughout his entire outing, which is making it difficult for him to pitch deeper into games.

Wheeler said after the game that he did not feel any tightness in his back on Sunday. He said it was not a mechanical problem.

“It’s not even mechanical,” he said. “I don’t know what it is. It’s just something we’re going to have to look into, I guess. I don’t think it’s anything super serious. Maybe it’s just the time catching up to me, just not being able to breathe and take a second to think, and this and that. It’s part of the game now. I guess we’ve got to deal with it. But you’ve just to keep that concentration. Like I said, when bloops turn into hitting guys and walking guys, that just doesn’t add up into a good situation. That’s on me, and I’ve just got to do better.”

Entering Saturday, the Phillies had hit just 19 home runs through their first 21 games. On Saturday they hit three, and on Sunday they hit four.

Many of their homers haven’t come from the usual suspects. On Saturday, Nick Castellanos, who hadn’t hit a home run since Aug. 27, hit two, and Cristian Pache hit one. On Sunday, Trea Turner led off with a solo shot to left-center field, his second homer of the year.

Kody Clemens, who entered the game with a .063 slugging percentage, hit his first home run as a Phillie in the third inning. In the seventh, Bryson Stott hit his second of the season, a two-run shot to right field. In the eighth, Brandon Marsh hit his fourth. Half of the Phillies’ eight hits on Sunday left the yard.

“And the walks, too,” manager Rob Thomson said. “We had five walks, four home runs. That’s going to create runs, for the most part. I thought we swung the bats well. We had good at-bats against [Rockies starter José] Ureña. Made him work. And once we got the lead, we added on, which was huge.”

» READ MORE: Phillies’ Bryson Stott succeeding in the leadoff spot the way he always has: ‘I’m not in a rush’

José Alvarado entered the game in the eighth inning. He struck out Ryan McMahon, induced a groundout from C.J. Cron, allowed a single to Mike Moustakas, and struck out Alan Trejo to end the inning.

Alvarado -— who was sent to the minor leagues last May for his command issues — has not allowed a regular-season walk since Sept. 21. Of the 55 batters he’s faced since then, he has struck out 32 (58.2%).