The marquee pitching matchup of the weekend went the Phillies’ way as Zack Wheeler out-dueled Paul Skenes in a 6-0 victory Sunday afternoon. The Phillies shutout their opponent in back-to-back games for the first time since 2022 while the offense subdued the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner.
Wheeler pitched an elite performance, striking out eight batters over seven scoreless innings. Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott each went yard to lead the Phillies offensively with the younger Las Vegas native notching three RBI on the day.
Looking back to Saturday, the Pirates’ biggest problem came from the top of the Phillies’ lineup, who dominated against starting pitcher Bubba Chandler. Skenes responded by shutting down the Phillies top three in the first inning, striking out the side against Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper.
It was not until the second time around in the lineup that the Phillies notched a hit. One inning later, they broke the ice. Adolis García led off the inning with a walk before a one-out single from J.T. Realmuto moved him to third. Crawford used an out to score García, grounding out to short while Realmuto moved up to scoring position.
Turner increased the Phillies’ lead to two on an opposite-field single, scoring Realmuto.
Harper kept the pressure on in the top of the sixth, driving a 1-0 sinker into center field for a leadoff homer. The home run was Harper’s second in as many days and his 12th on the season. Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh followed up with a single and double, respectively, putting two runners in scoring position for the Phillies with no outs on the inning.
At that point, Pirates manager Don Kelly went to the bullpen, pulling Skenes after five-plus innings of work. His final two baserunners eventually scored on a Bryson Stott double, giving the Phillies a 5-0 lead. This was just the fourth time in Skenes’ career where the young phenom allowed five earned runs or more.
Meanwhile, Zack Wheeler was in mint condition for the Phillies. Pitching over 97 mph at his peak, Wheeler showed off more of his pre-injury form.
The Pirates’ best chance to score on Wheeler came in the bottom of the sixth. Brandon Lowe thought he had gotten the Pirates on the board, hitting a solo home run to the first row in right-center field. An umpire review, however, determined that a Pirates fan reached over the fence, interfering with the batted ball. Though the ball seemed destined for the front row, Lowe had to settle for a double, eventually getting stranded there as Wheeler worked Bryan Reynolds into a groundout to end the inning.
Wheeler continued to deal through the seventh inning, keeping the Pirates’ offense scoreless on four hits and one walk. He struck out eight batters and recorded 13 swing-and-miss pitches, watching his ERA drop down to 1.99 before the end of the day.
As Wheeler returned to the dugout to wrap up his day, Stott decided he wanted a little more action at the plate. Staying with a changeup from Dennis Santana, Stott drove his fourth home run of the season into right field, increasing the Phillies’ lead to 6-0 on the day.
Jonathan Bowlan entered to handle the bottom of the eighth for the Phillies. Striking out one batter and allowing one base hit, Bowlan retired the Pirates with ease to set up a clean ninth inning.
Tanner Banks finished the game with a clean sheet in the bottom of the ninth, forcing three fly-outs to secure the second-straight shutout for Philadelphia and the series sweep.
The shutouts mark the first time the Phillies have completed back-to-back shutouts since July 16-17, 2022 when they shutout the Miami Marlins 10-0 and 4-0.
When the Phillies shipped up to Boston for this most recent road trip, they stood with a 19-22 record. Closing out the six-game away trip on a four-game winning streak, they have now improved to 24-23. In the same week, they halved their run differential from -32 to -17.
With the Cincinnati Reds coming into town, the Phillies will hope to continue their success. Andrew Painter will face left-hander Nick Lodolo to open the series Monday evening.
