3 Studs (and 2 Duds) From Phillies Game 1 Win Over Marlins
Stud Zack Wheeler
It was clear from the first fastball that Zack Wheeler came to play on Tuesday. He opened the game by hitting some numbers on the gun that we didn't see from him in the regular season, and he didn't look back.
1-2-3, Zack Wheeler retires the Marlins to begin the Phillies' postseason.
— Corey Seidman (@CSeidmanNBCS) October 4, 2023
His fastballs were 98, 98, 99, 99, 98, 98, 98, 97, 98
"He's one of the first guys I played with who can throw almost 100, 98 to 100 consistently and command the baseball," Aaron Nola said this afternoon
Wheeler's fastest pitch in the entire 2023 regular season was 98.5 mph, per StatCast data, and he was up over that mark regularly throughout the game.
Wheeler went on to be absurdly economical, getting through 6.2 innings with 95 pitches.
He was looking almost flawless until that seventh inning, too, until he-who-must-not-be-named was the first domino that led to Wheeler unraveling a bit.
Even with the drop-off in the final inning, Wheeler's 8 strikes with 0 walks and 5 hits plus 1 earned run is a pretty beautiful stat line for Game 1.