Death, taxes, and Zack Wheeler dominating in October.
With the Philadelphia Phillies opening their 2024 post-season at home against the New York Mets, there was no one else that would take the ball in Game 1 but Wheeler — and he delivered one of the best playoff starts of his career.
Wheeler worked seven scoreless innings against the red-hot Mets offence, allowing just one hit while picking up nine strikeouts over 111 pitches. The 34-year-old also forced New York hitters to swing and miss 30 times, the third-highest total in a playoff game during the pitch-tracking era.
“(I) felt great pitching in front of this crowd. It keeps you going through seven and keeps you going deeper into the game without (losing) adrenaline,” Wheeler told Tom Verducci on the broadcast after coming out of the game.
Wheeler’s fastball had some extra juice in the game, touching 99 m.p.h. and averaging nearly two m.p.h. more than it did in the regular season.
“I don’t know where it came from,” Wheeler said of the extra velocity. “(Catcher) J.T. Realmuto, we usually start out with some fastballs. It’s my best pitch, so I’m going to throw it. It just depends on how they’re looking, I want to keep with it.”
The outing took Wheeler to 77 career post-season strikeouts with Philadelphia, tying the Phillies’ franchise record.
Not only did Wheeler further his status as one of the greatest Phillies in October, but he pushed his name up the list of all-time playoff greats.
Among pitchers to throw at least 70 innings in the post-season, Wheeler now ranks seventh with a 2.18 ERA.
Unfortunately for the Phillies, there is only one Wheeler. The Mets were able to string together a rally off Philadelphia’s bullpen to take the lead in the inning after the ace came out of the game.
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