DETROIT, MI - JUNE 25: Philadelphia Phillies 1B Bryce Harper (3) during the game between Philadelphia Phillies and Detroit Tigers on June 25, 2024 at Comerica Park in Detroit, MI (Photo by Allan Dranberg/Icon Sportswire)
A day after scoring three runs on four hits, the Phillies struggled at the plate again on Sunday. Just like Saturday, they scored a run in the first inning, but couldn’t do much more. Not being able to do much more wasted a great start by Zack Wheeler.
Mets’ starter Tylor Megill was able to get through four innings by using mostly fastballs. The right-hander held the Phillies to four hits and that one run he allowed in the first. Phil Maton was first out of New York’s bullpen. He faced six hitters and retired all of them. José Buttó tossed a 1-2-3 seventh.
With a one-run lead and the top of the Phillies’ order due up, Mets’ manager Carlos Mendoza opted to use closer Edwin Díaz for the eighth inning. Trea Turner got 90 feet from home — he singled and stole his way to third base — but a Bryce Harper strikeout and Alec Bohm groundout ended the inning. Díaz remained in the game for the ninth, and after Bryson Stott got to third after a walk and two stolen bases, Kody Clemens couldn’t come through with two outs, striking out to end the game.
While the offense was far from it, Wheeler was excellent. The right-hander pitched seven innings and allowed two runs. He struck out eight Mets and walked one. Sunday’s was Wheeler’s 10th straight outing in which he finished at least six innings and allowed no more than two earned runs. It’s the longest such streak for a Phillies starter since Aaron Nola in 2017.
