The Philadelphia Phillies have a bit of a problem. Their success this season has been largely off the backs of their elite pitching staff. However, during their series sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of these players suffered a bit of a scare. Zack Wheeler was pulled early from his start a few days ago due to what was reported to be a back injury.
The injury ended up being back spasms. As a result of the injury, the Phillies are electing to sit Zack Wheeler for his scheduled start, per ESPN. Wheeler intends to use the time off with the All-Star break to recover from said injuries.
“Phillies ace Zack Wheeler will skip his scheduled start Sunday and use the upcoming All-Star break to recover from nagging back issues… Wheeler had an MRI on Wednesday that showed no structural damage. He reported still being sore Wednesday, but manager Rob Thomson said Thursday that his pitcher was feeling better.”
Phillies manager Rob Thomson said that the team is being extra cautious with the star's injury.
“We're going to be precautionary,” Thomson said. “We'll line him up coming out of the break. We haven't lined it up exactly yet, but we'll make sure to take care of him.”
As for who will start in Wheeler's stead, the Phillies have not made an official statement yet on who will start. However, Thomson implied that it could be a bullpen game for them against the Oakland As.
“It all depends on what happens Friday and Saturday,” he said. “Hopefully we don't use a lot of bullpen on Saturday and we can run our guys out there [Sunday]. We can get them some work going into the break.”
Phillies tearing through MLB
The Phillies have been the best team in the league this season. After a so-so start to the year, the team has finally gotten their groove. We already touched on the Phillies' starting rotation: Wheeler is the ace, but he's flanked by two other pitchers that could be aces. Ranger Suarez and Aaron Nola have been crushing it as well this season. With Taijuan Walker struggles, the Phillies turned to another emerging star in Cristopher Sanchez.
The bullpen has been equally excellent for the Phillies. Jose Alvarado as the closer is already a fearsome idea for their opponents even when he's struggling. He also has the likes of Jeff Hoffman and Matt Strahm as his running mates, which is a great lineup. They work together to create one of the more formidable pitching staffs in the league.
As for their hitting? They have absolute gold everywhere. After a bit of a down year last season, Trea Turner has been killing it for the Phillies this season. Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Alec Bohm have also been pretty damn great (when they're healthy, that is). The bottom of their order is also sneaky good, with Brandon Marsh and Yohan Rojas good for a few pop-off games to set up their terrifying top three.
The Phillies have had plenty of chances in the last few years to win the World Series, to no avail. Will this year be their year?
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