Zack Wheeler dominates his first start in two weeks, Phillies offense rallies to beat Twins

MINNEAPOLIS — Zack Wheeler walked off the mound, into the Phillies’ dugout, and down the bench, receiving high-fives and fist-bumps from anyone within his reach.

And rest assured, everyone else exhaled.

Two weeks since his last start, after experiencing lower back tightness, Wheeler delivered seven scoreless innings Tuesday night. It was exactly the brilliance the Phillies have come to expect from their ace and what they will surely need down the stretch and in October.

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By itself, that would’ve made for a successful night in Phillies Land. But better late than never, the offense came alive in the ninth inning against flame throwing Twins closer Jhoan Durán to pull out a 3-0 victory and even a series that wraps up Wednesday with a matinee at Target Field.

“I came out of it good and where I want to be,” Wheeler said after throwing 107 pitches, his highest total since June 27. “Nothing was messing with me today. I was encouraged by that. It was good.”

The Phillies snapped a 16-inning scoreless spell with a rally started by a one-out double from Bryce Harper. They loaded the bases for Brandon Marsh, who lifted a stalemate-breaking sacrifice fly. Nick Castellanos added a two-run double on a 101-mph fastball from Durán to pad the lead.

And Matt Strahm secured the Phillies’ 64th win in 101 games, tossing a scoreless ninth inning to nail down his first save of the season in front of a rooting section of about 75 family and friends from neighboring North Dakota.

Make no mistake, though: The headline belonged to Wheeler. Because the Phillies’ World Series-or-bust fortunes rest with their starting pitching. They have won 26 consecutive games in which the starter goes at least seven innings, the second-longest streak in baseball history after the 1942 Cardinals (42 in a row).

How’s that for an amazing stat?

Also, it’s a testament to the significance of keeping the starters — and Wheeler, in particular — as healthy as possible through October. Surely, then, everyone in the Phillies’ universe breathed a sigh of relief to see Wheeler pitch without a recurrence of the back issue.

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“It’s reassuring,” Castellanos said. “I don’t like the phrase ‘sigh of relief’ because that would be like expecting something bad to happen. But great start. It’s awesome to see, fun to play behind.”

Wheeler reported the back tightness after a July 9 start at home against the Dodgers. A few days later, the Phillies scratched him from starting the last game before the All-Star break. Wheeler scrapped his regularly scheduled bullpen session, rested through the break, then threw last weekend in Pittsburgh.

Based on reports from the trainers and feedback from Wheeler himself, manager Rob Thomson felt confident that the issue was resolved. But like the night before with Ranger Suárez, who dealt with back spasms in his final start before the break, the proof was in the pitching.

Wheeler didn’t leave much doubt.

His first pitch to Twins leadoff man Willi Castro hummed at 96 mph. He consistently hit 96 in the first inning, maxing out at 97 on a pitch to Trevor Larnach. But he also threw 18 pitches to the first two batters.

“When I looked up at the scoreboard and there was already 22 pitches — I remember that number for whatever reason; I guess that’s when I looked up there — coming back from a back thing and out there grinding right away, it’s not what you want to do,” Wheeler said. “I was trying to figure myself out and get into a nice rhythm.”

Indeed, he was efficient after that, scattering three hits and two walks and allowing only one runner to reach third base. He threw 87 pitches through six innings, and when Thomson asked how he felt, Wheeler said he could keep going.

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“I said, ‘All right, well, you’ve got about 15 pitches left,’” Thomson said. “I let him go a little more, just trying to get him through the inning, and he did it. He did a great job. Unbelievable.”

Castellanos offered a different adjective.

“Amazing,” he said. “Zack Wheeler being Zack Wheeler.”

But Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson dueled with Wheeler for six scoreless innings. He leaned on fastballs and sliders, sprinkled in bat-slowing changeups, and held the Phillies to three hits — all singles.

The Phillies helped, too, running into two outs in the sixth inning. Johan Rojas got picked off first base (a replay review confirmed the initial call) before Trea Turner tried to stretch a single off the wall and was out on a perfect throw from leftfielder Matt Wallner.

Rojas, Castellanos, and second baseman Bryson Stott made stellar plays behind Wheeler; Alec Bohm made a backhand play and stepped on third base to help Gregory Soto escape the eighth inning.

Harper started the winning rally in the ninth, but Castellanos’ at-bat was especially impressive. He worked the count full against Durán, who gave up one run in his previous 10 appearances, before stroking a heater the other way to right field.

Don’t look now, but since June 16, Castellanos is batting .316 with five homers, 22 RBIs, and a .912 OPS in 30 games, hiking his overall numbers to .237, 14 homers, 52 RBIs, and a .697 OPS.

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Just don’t mention the numbers to him.

“I just want my work to be good, I want the vibes to be good, I want to win baseball games,” Castellanos said. “Let all that other [stuff] take care of itself.”

And by winning more games than any team in baseball, the Phillies have a cushion to keep Wheeler and the rest of the starters on the mound.

“It’s not what you want to do, miss a start, but sometimes it’s best for me in the long run,” Wheeler said. “We put ourselves in a really good position as a team to take a blow if we need it, if something’s bothering us. At the end of the day, it’s what’s best for us and the team in the long run.”