There is only one more game left in the regular season of the 2024 campaign, and with the Philadelphia Phillies eyeing a much greater prize, there isn’t anything else they need to accomplish.
With their loss on Saturday, the Phillies were officially locked into the second overall seed in the National League, failing to secure home field advantage throughout the National League side of the playoffs, but still able to achieve a first round bye.
In terms of what they have accomplished as a Wild Card team the past two years, Philadelphia should be ecstatic with the position they are in.
Regardless, the team still dropped their final series of the year on Saturday even though their ace was on the bump for his final appearance of the regular season.
Zack Wheeler took the mound trying to keep the Phillies alive for the top overall record in Major League Baseball that would have secured home field advantage throughout the playoffs. And even though he pitched well with only two earned runs on just three hits over 6.2 innings where he struck out 11, he was given a no decision that finished his campaign with a 16-7 record and 2.67 ERA.
The right-hander has been an absolute star since he’s joined Philadelphia, and it’s a shame he will finish runner-up in Cy Young voting for the second time in his career. However, he did make history of his own, doing something no other pitcher in franchise history has ever done.
With his performance on Saturday, Wheeler became the first pitcher in Phillies history to have 11 straight starts with two runs or fewer allowed, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic.
This streak stared on Aug 4., six days after he was shelled for seven earned runs against the New York Yankees.
That outing has been an anomaly during his time in Philadelphia. Wheeler has a 2.94 ERA across his 133 starts and 829.1 innings pitched since joining the franchise ahead of 2020, putting together one of the best runs this organization has ever seen.
He’s been lights out since joining the Phillies, becoming a staple of consistency throughout the regular season and the No. 1 guy whenever he takes the mound in the playoffs the past two years.
Wheeler has become a superstar, and this latest feat just signals how good he has been.
With his final start taking place on Saturday, the right-hander can now turn his attention to dominating for Philadelphia in the playoffs like he has done during the past two postseasons, posting a 2.42 ERA across his 11 starts.