Zack Wheeler, Kyle Schwarber deliver as the Phillies take series opener from Red Sox

BOSTON — On the first swing of his first at-bat Tuesday night in this ancient ballpark, Kyle Schwarber tied a record for a franchise that has existed for 144 seasons.

Yet somehow he was upstaged.

Because as Schwarber elbowed his way into the Phillies’ history book by homering in his fifth game in a row, Zack Wheeler almost went back in time to when pitchers took the ball and didn’t give it up.

Wheeler was stunningly economical through six innings and appeared headed for a complete game until he had to work harder in the seventh. So, he didn’t finish what he started. Still, he dominated in a series-opening 2-1 victory over the reeling Red Sox.

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Oh, but it gets better. Let Wheeler tell it.

“I think I threw about three strikes in the bullpen, so I was a little nervous going out there,” he said after the Phillies improved to 11-3 under interim manager Don Mattingly. “But at this point in my career, you kind of take that with a grain of salt and hope for the best.”

And take a moment to soak in the atmosphere, too.

Maybe it was because Wheeler was making only his second start ever in Fenway Park in 12 major league seasons. Or maybe it’s because he’s a few weeks from turning 36 and eight months removed from surgery to relieve a compressed vein, a procedure that has curtailed more than a few careers.

But as he walked in from the right-field bullpen to the third-base dugout after that confidence-shaking warmup, Wheeler recalled saying something to catcher J.T. Realmuto.

“I was like, ‘Man, this is pretty cool,’” Wheeler said. “You just look up and, just the history, the views, and you can kind of just feel it when you’re out there. It’s just really cool.”

As cool as, say, getting nine outs on 16 pitches to begin the game?

You read that right. Sixteen pitches.

If you didn’t know better, you would have thought 114-year-old Fenway’s scoreboard malfunctioned.

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“After three, you’re thinking a Maddux,” Mattingly said, referring to the patented Greg Maddux complete game in less than 100 pitches. “Like at that point, is it going to be a Maddux game?

“You’re pretty much getting a full dose of him at that point. Obviously a good feeling.”

Wheeler felt great once he got on the mound. The first time through the order, he leaned on two varieties of fastballs — a four-seamer that sat at 94 mph and peaked at 96, and a sinker. He introduced his sweeper in the middle innings.

And he feasted on the Red Sox, 7-7 since they fired manager Alex Cora in the final days of April. But no matter who’s running the dugout, it doesn’t change their lack of home-run power nor the fact that they’ve scored only 18 runs in their last 10 games at home.

The Sox didn’t get a hit until Marcelo Mayer’s leadoff single in the third inning. They didn’t get a runner into scoring position until Trevor Story’s two-out single in the seventh moved Mickey Gasper to second.

Even good fortune favored Wheeler. When the Red Sox finally made hard contact, it was to Fenway’s spacious right field, where Adolis García hauled it in against the 380-foot sign.

Mattingly sent Wheeler out for the eighth inning at 85 pitches — “When he’s that good, I feel pretty confident to send him back out” — but lifted him with one on and one out for lefty José Alvarado, who stranded the tying run on third base.

“Zack pitched unbelievable,” Schwarber said. “I felt like he was attacking the zone. And it was quick innings. The defense was working for him, too. But he’s efficient, quick. Wheels was unbelievable.”

Speaking of which, Schwarber cleared the short fence in right field to give the Phillies a lead on the 10th pitch of the game from lefty Jovani Morán. Eight players in club history have gone deep in five consecutive games, and it’s A-list company.

“I didn’t really know that was a thing,” Schwarber said. “I mean, it’s pretty cool. Right? Our franchise history is pretty historic, and when you have some big boppers come through our organization, it’s really cool to see that.”

It’s an extraordinary achievement on several levels, not the least of which is it was preceded by an ignominious feat. Earlier this month, Schwarber struck out in eight consecutive plate appearances, the second-longest streak by a Phillies position player.

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“He’s just one of those guys,” Mattingly said. “You make mistakes, he makes you pay.”

Mattingly has a unique perspective. In 1987, he tied the major league record with homers in eight consecutive games.

“I wasn’t nothing like Schwarb because I really wasn’t a home run hitter,” Mattingly said. “But that little stretch I was. [He’s] dangerous. He’s a guy that, one game to the next, you don’t really know.”

Usually, though, when Wheeler pitches and Schwarber homers, the Phillies have a pretty good idea that a victory will follow.

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There’s never not a good reason to talk baseball with Terry Francona. But with his current team (the Reds) coming to town Monday, and because two of his former clubs (the Red Sox and Phillies) recently fired their managers, there's no better time to invite the future Hall of Fame manager for a conversation on "Phillies Extra," The Inquirer's baseball podcast. Watch here.

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Previous episodes: Aaron Rowand | Hunter Pence | Paco Figueroa | Gage Wood | Scott Boras | Brian Barber | Aaron Nola | Justin Crawford | Garrett Stubbs | Kyle Schwarber