Some of the questions surrounding the health of Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler could be answered when the ace right-hander takes the hill for the Phillies as they clash with the Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon in the finale of a three-game interleague series in Arlington, Texas.
Wheeler (9-5, 2.64 ERA) will oppose Rangers left-hander Patrick Corbin (6-7, 3.91).
The Phillies have guaranteed their third straight series win and have captured five of their past six games. Texas, meanwhile, has dropped three games in a row.
“I think, more than anything, it’s wanting it,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said about his team’s losing streak. “You gotta want it in the worst way. Live it, breathe it. You gotta go out every game determined to win the ballgame. And putting the losses behind you, that’s gotta be important, too. We’ve gotta keep that focus every day.”
Wheeler will look for his first win in more than a month after going 0-2 over his past four starts and dropping two straight decisions. He has allowed four runs in each of his last two appearances, including a six-plus-inning stint on Aug. 2 at home in a 7-5 setback to Detroit in which he scattered nine hits (three of them home runs) and struck out 10.
He pitched to the first two batters in the seventh and gave up a two-run home run on his final pitch.
“That was on me going back out there for the seventh,” Wheeler said of the homer. “At the end of the day, maybe I shouldn’t have, but I really did feel good being able to go back out there.
“I just need to be better. I need to get my command back and, for whatever reason, I just haven’t had it. You go through those times throughout the season.”
Wheeler reported soreness in his right shoulder following the game against the Tigers and was pushed back from Friday to Sunday to allow the soreness to subside. An MRI of his shoulder came back clean.
“Wheeler came out of his last start a little sore — more sore than he normally is,” Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson said. “We just decided to give him an extra couple days.”
Wheeler leads the National League in strikeouts with 182 in 139 2/3 innings. His 969 innings since 2020 are the most of any pitcher, and his 15,143 pitches over that stretch are second only to the San Diego Padres’ Dylan Cease.
Wheeler has faced the Rangers six times in his career, going 2-2 with a 2.45 ERA over 36 2/3 innings. His most recent start against them was a 5-2 victory in May of last season in a game in which he surrendered two runs on five hits in seven innings.
Corbin has four straight no-decisions, going a season-low three innings and allowing three runs on six hits in his last start, at home, against the Yankees on Monday in a game the Rangers won 8-5 in 11 innings. His last win was on July 10 in Anaheim, Calif., against the Los Angeles Angels.
Corbin is 6-10 in 22 lifetime starts against the Phillies while recording a 4.78 ERA over 122 1/3 innings. He hasn’t posted a win versus Philadelphia since 2021 and has just one victory (and eight losses) in 13 appearances against the Phillies since 2020.
His most recent start against Philadelphia was Aug. 16 of last year when, as a member of the Washington Nationals, he allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks over 4 1/3 innings of a 3-2 loss.
–Field Level Media
