Zack Wheeler flirts with no-hitter as Phillies win fifth straight game

Good baseball teams can get to the postseason in a variety of ways, but beating up on terrible teams may be the easiest path. The Phillies continued doing just that on Saturday, building a 9-0 lead over the Chicago White Sox before Ricardo Pinto allowed five garbage-time runs in the ninth.

Zack Wheeler was phenomenal in this one, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning. After Wheeler finished up the seventh at 101 pitches, there was a spirited debate among Phillies fans on social media regarding whether manager Rob Thomson should let Wheeler go after the no-no. Would it be wise for the team’s ace to push past his personal high of 107 pitches to chase the accomplishment?

“It’s kind of a tough deal right there, but I’m not gonna let him get hurt, that’s for sure,” said Thomson postgame. The skipper said Wheeler’s limit was probably about 120 pitches regardless of the situation. “You want him to get the no-hitter, but you don’t wanna put him in jeopardy . . . He understood that too, when I talked to him.”

“It’s a long season,” Wheeler told reporters after the game. “I always say that when this type of thing happens, you want to be good for the long run. No-hitters are cool, but you gotta be safe, too.”

The debate was rendered moot in the eighth. Wheeler retired the first Chicago batter of the inning. But the next hitter, Sox catcher Korey Lee, hit Wheeler’s 106th pitch of the night down the first base line–just out of the reach of a diving Bryce Harper–for a single. Wheeler departed to a standing ovation from a sellout crowd at Citizens Bank Park.

“Sinker in,” Wheeler said about his final pitch. “Maybe not in enough . . . I was trying to get some quick outs. Maybe get a little bit more of the plate.”

While the near no-hitter provided some intrigue, the outcome of the game was never in doubt. Brandon Marsh hit a two-run home run in the second inning. Nick Castellanos followed up Marsh’s blast with a triple, and Johan Rojas singled to bring Castellanos home and give the Phillies an early 3-0 lead. The Phils’ offense piled on after that, scoring two runs in each of the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings.

Castellanos reached base four times in the game, with three hits and a walk. “It was really good to see [Castellanos] break out a little bit tonight,” Thomson said. “When we’re hitting on all cylinders, [the lineup] is long,” added the manager when asked about what a productive Castellanos or Rojas can do for the team. (Rojas had three hits of his own.)

Pinto’s messy ninth inning was the only real blemish on the Phils’ night. He allowed five hits, walked two, and hit a batter when he came in for mop-up duty. Thomson was forced to use Jose Alvarado to get the final out of the game.

Life doesn’t get any easier for the struggling White Sox on Sunday, as Aaron Nola (2-1, 3.47 ERA) takes the mound for the Fightins. RHP Nick Nastrini (0-1, 3.60 ERA) will start for Chicago.

The first pitch of the series finale is scheduled for 1:35 p.m., but fans are advised to get to their seats by 1:00 p.m. if they’re interested in seeing the Phillie Phanatic’s on-field birthday celebration. Kids can also enjoy complimentary face-painting before and after the game at The Yard (the wiffle-ball field). Gates open at 12:05 p.m.