Zack Wheeler will start for the Phillies against the Braves on Saturday night, manager Rob Thomson told reporters (link via Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic). It will be his first game of the season after undergoing thoracic surgery last year.
Wheeler completed his fifth minor league start on Sunday. He threw four innings and 77 pitches. Wheeler went 5 2/3 frames over 72 pitches in his previous outing. He should be able to make 80+ contributions early in his season as long as he plays well. Thomson suggested the Phils would put him through about 90 pitches and six innings in any event.
The Phillies have not named their first player for tomorrow’s game against the Mantshontsho, although it is expected to be the opener in front of. Taijuan Walker. They will turn to Christopher Sánchez on Thursday. Andrew Painter will enter opening Friday in Atlanta, with Aaron Nola to get the result on sunday. That would give Jesus Luzardo six days off before the start of next Tuesday’s series against the Giants.
Thomson declined to announce long-term plans for Philadelphia. One would assume that Walker will step into a long relief role after tomorrow’s scheduled mound appearance. The veteran righty has had a rough start to the season. Walker has yet to go more than five innings in any of his first four starts. He has given up six runs in the last three games.
This is the final season of Walker’s four-year, $72MM free agent deal. If Philadelphia’s bullpen were at full strength, they may have had a tough call to play in a relief role to keep him on the roster. Recent injuries to John Duran, Jonathan Bowling again Zach Pop maybe confirm that Walker will hold a roster spot. The Phils can pick anywhere Kyle Backhus, Chase Shugart or Alan Rangel and Wheeler returns.
Walker’s struggles have been just one aspect of a brutal start to Philly’s rotation. That was expected to be a strength, but only Sánchez has had a good start to the season. Luzardo has been frustratingly inconsistent. Nola has struggled with the home run ball for a few years and has allowed just over five runs in nine innings. Painter has been their second-best starter in average, or that’s at least in part because the Phillies have protected him so much against the lineup three times a game.
Philadelphia’s rotation ranks 27th in MLB with a 5.48 earned run average entering tonight’s game. That will get a little better after Luzardo managed 4 2/3 frames of one-run ball, but he walked four batters and threw 100 pitches in an inefficient manner. The Phils lost to the Cubs by a score of 7-4, dropping them to 8-15 on the year. While it has been somewhat overshadowed by the Mets’ horrible start, this has been a rough couple of weeks for the two-time defending NL East champions.
They will hope that Wheeler will open up to provide a spark. His post-injury form remains to be seen. The three-time All-Star was one of the best 5-10 hitters in the MLB before the injury. However, his velocity dropped three miles per hour during his Triple-A rehab stint. He’s sitting around 93 mph after averaging 96 last year.
