In Zack Wheeler's first career start against his former team, the Phillies beat the Mets to complete a three-game weekend sweep.
The 6-2 win improved the Phillies to 8-9. They are off Monday before hitting the road for 10 straight games following 16 of the first 17 at Citizens Bank Park.
Wheeler made another strong start filled with groundballs. He gave up the lead in the fourth inning before the Phillies reclaimed it for good in the bottom of the sixth on Andrew McCutchen's two-run home run.
The Phillies are 15-7 against the Mets since the start of last season.
"Our starting pitching has been really good," manager Joe Girardi said. "I think our offense, the fight in our offense and the ability to come back, has been really good. And it seems we've found some sense of where guys work in the bullpen. Everyone kinda did their job this weekend and that's encouraging."
The Phillies hit .314 in the series. Their starting pitchers have a 3.59 ERA on the season.
Wheeler living on the ground
Wheeler has generated 39 groundballs in four starts. He has a 2.81 ERA and has completed seven innings twice.
The Phillies, so far, have gotten exactly what they paid for. Wheeler has not been the strikeout machine he was the last three seasons when he whiffed a batter per inning, but he's been so efficient with outs early in counts. He's also limited the walks with six in four starts.
The Phillies are 3-1 in Wheeler's starts and have won the last two times Aaron Nola pitched. That's the way they drew it up with this one-two punch.
Shortly after Wheeler signed with the Phillies, Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen basically said the Mets didn't think Wheeler was worth the money.
"The value for what we thought the investment [was] didn’t line up,” Van Wagenen told Mets reporters in December. "The projections that we had for Zack both short-term and long-term didn’t quite match up to the market he was able to enjoy."
Wheeler admitted feeling some nerves before the game against his old team, but he said he wasn't thinking about those comments from BVW.
"I'm not trying to prove anybody wrong," he said. "Some nerves, extra adrenaline, but once you get on the mound, it's just another game."
Wheeler is every bit as low-key as Nola.
McCutchen's game-winner
This was the first time in McCutchen's major-league career that he homered off the bench. He entered the game for Jay Bruce in the fifth inning. Bruce left after feeling something in his left quad.
McCutchen, who typically leads off for the Phillies, is beginning to come around after a slow start. He's 5 for 18 with five RBI over his last five games.
The Phillies' three- and four-hitters, Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto, have been hot since opening day. If McCutchen and Rhys Hoskins can get rolling ahead of them in the lineup, the Phillies have a chance to do some big offensive damage.
Hoskins plated the Phillies' first run Sunday, singling in Jean Segura in the first inning. Hoskins is 8 for 26 with three doubles, four RBI and seven runs scored in his last seven games.
Segura exits
Segura exited in the bottom of the seventh inning after injuring his hamstring. It appeared to happen as he stepped on the bag while beating out a ball at first base.
Segura has been the Phillies' best hitter against the Mets the last two seasons. His leadoff triple was his 13th extra-base hit against them in 79 plate appearances since 2019. He's hit .360 against the Mets as a Phillie.
Earlier in the day, the Phillies placed centerfielder Roman Quinn on the injured list. Quinn experienced minor symptoms of COVID-19 Sunday morning and was told to stay home out of an abundance of caution. Adam Haseley, the Phillies' other centerfielder, is on the IL with a wrist sprain.
Scott Kingery started in center for the second straight game Sunday and should continue to see time there.
Bohm making a difference
Rookie Alec Bohm has either an extra-base hit, an RBI or a run scored in each of his four games with the Phillies. Having that one extra bat in the lineup has made a difference so far. His first-pitch RBI single tied the game Sunday and preceded McCutchen's two-run shot.
Bohm, who had solid strikeout and walk rates in the minors, has been aggressive on pitches in the strike zone. Pitchers will make some adjustments against him, but he certainly looks like he belongs.
He is 4 for 14 (.286) so far with two doubles. Two of the outs he's made were deep, crushed flyouts.
Up next
The Phillies are off Monday, as well as the following Monday. Those two Mondays and Sept. 9 are their only three off days over the next 5½ weeks.
The Phils are in Boston Tuesday and Wednesday, in Buffalo for a doubleheader with the Blue Jays Thursday, then in Atlanta next weekend.
The next team they see, the Red Sox, are a struggling bunch. They're 6-16 and have lost seven in a row.
"We knew we had to come into this series and bear down," Wheeler said. "It's good going into your road trip with a sweep. We're looking good. We're hitting the ball, our defense is unbelievable, bullpen is starting to heat up. It's time to win some games."
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