Even when he’s off, he’s on: Phillies 2, Angels 1

Aces are aces for a reason. They’re the ones teams count on to basically win each and every time they’re out, but they’re also human. They are going to have games where they aren’t at their best, when their stuff is a little off.

Yet they still battle. They still use everything they have get outs whatever way they can.

Today, Zack Wheeler didn’t have his best stuff. He was at 74 pitches through three innings and didn’t really look like he was comfortable. Yet somehow, he was able to give the team five innings, hand it to the bullpen and secure a series win.

The game started with the Phillies looking like a team that had been on the road for ten games and wanted to get home. A rough first inning by both teams led to some fun, but in the second, the Phillies loaded the bases with two outs and Kyle Schwarber up. Facing Patrick Sandoval, who was quite good himself today, Schwarber hit the ball in just the right spot to score two runs for the Phillies.

The Angels would answer with one in the bottom half of the second inning when a player supposedly named Ehire Adrianza somehow ran into one and homered off Wheeler.

From there, though, Wheeler did juuuuuuust enough to make sure runs weren’t put on the board. There was traffic on the bases, something we aren’t used to in a Wheeler start, but every time the Angels put men on the bases, it felt like there was a strikeout or a hard hit ball right at someone to end the threat.

The Phillies weren’t able to get anything going after the Schwarber hit, but there was a minor threat in the seventh. Whit Merrifield, starting at second against the lefty Sandoval, walked and stole second, but got thrown out at home trying to score on a ball Schwarber scalded at Luis Rengifo.

The bullpen tried to make it really interesting at the end, Alvarado in the eighth and Soto in the ninth, but somehow, some way, they were able to secure the win and the most wins in baseball at May 1.

Think about that.