PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — To anyone who wondered why Joe Girardi removed Zack Wheeler, after 99 pitches, from a 4-0 Phillies game on Monday afternoon, heading to the 7th inning — there was a reason behind it. The Phils want to make sure Wheeler has enough gas to throw his best in their run up to the postseason.
"I think I probably could've sent him out there if I really, really needed to," Girardi said after the 12-0 win against the Brewers, "but again, you have to look at this start, and you have to look at the next start, and the next start after that, and that's what we're trying to take care of."
Girardi confirmed 100 pitches is not "a hard and fast number." Even though the Phillies are being careful now, Girardi didn't rule out Wheeler being turned loose, as a reporter put it, during the final week of the season.
Wheeler has become the Phillies' ace this season — making his first All-Star team and putting himself in legitimate contention for the National League Cy Young Award. But the 31-year-old wasn't his best in August, with his 4.81 earned run average. That put his ERA at 3.01 for the season prior to the start against Milwaukee. It had not been over 3.00 since May 1. With another month of starts to go, Wheeler is approaching a career high in innings pitched for a season — currently at 188.2.
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The righty was originally supposed to pitch the series finale at the Marlins on Sunday, but he was moved to Monday to set up specific matchups later in the schedule — notably the Braves and Miami series. Also, it doesn't hurt to give your horse an extra day.
"We're trying to just be smart about it, and the performance kind of showed that I was getting a little fatigued, tired, whatever you want to call it the past couple of starts," Girardi said. "So, just that one extra day or two definitely helps. That's the goal — right? — is finish strong, especially where we're at, just trying to be strong and hopefully make that playoff push."
To do that, the Phils will likely need to ride on the performances of Wheeler and superstar right fielder Bryce Harper. If either, or both, are not producing the way the Phillies need to, their postseason drought could grow to 10 consecutive seasons.
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