SEATTLE — Julio Rodríguez unloaded on a two-strike splitter in the first inning here Monday night and set off the foghorn that announces Mariners home runs.
Read more Delco school board member killed in South Jersey crash
To the Phillies, it sounded more like a siren.
Because the Mariners’ five-foghorn, 9-2 victory was a five-alarm start for Zack Wheeler. Never mind, then, that the Phillies’ nine-game winning streak went up in smoke. There was a more urgent question to keep the team’s pitching brain trust from sleeping in Seattle.
What the heck is going on with Wheeler?
It wasn’t merely what happened against the Mariners, but as long as we’re on the subject: Wheeler allowed eight runs (a season-high) on nine hits, four homers, and five walks, equaling his season-high in those categories. He didn’t get an out in the fifth inning.
The Phillies could reasonably chalk it up to a one-off, just one of those nights, if not for the fact that Wheeler has allowed at least four runs in four of his last six starts. Related: He has issued at least four walks in back-to-back starts for the first time since July 2017.
Wheeler exhibited poor command from the very first inning. The first six batters reached on a walk, a single, Rodriguez’s homer, a single, a walk, and the first of three homers from Cal Raleigh.
Read more A woman disappears in the Delaware River after rescuing a girl
The Mariners scored five first-inning runs, marking the first time Wheeler gave up that many runs in the first inning since Sept. 12, 2023 against the Braves.
And even the Phillies, who made a habit of rallying from big deficits lately, couldn’t come back from 5-1 down.
It will raise questions about Wheeler’s stamina 124⅓ innings into the season after missing the final two months of last year while recovering from surgery to treat symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome.
Wheeler gave up back-to-back homers to Raleigh and Cole Young in the fifth inning before finally being lifted by interim manager Don Mattingly.
Read more East Side Little League falls 6-5 to Phenix City, ending their run in Williamsport