SEATTLE -- Zack Wheeler did something on Monday night that no other Phillies pitcher on record had ever done.
Typically when that applies to Wheeler, it means he's done something truly remarkable.
That was not the case this time around.
Wheeler was tagged for eight runs over four-plus innings in a 9-2 loss to the Mariners at T-Mobile Park, ending the Phillies' nine-game win streak. In the process, he became the first Phillies pitcher in the Modern Era (since 1900) to allow at least four homers and five walks in a single outing.
“To be totally honest with you, I feel perfectly fine,” Wheeler said. “Healthy, strong -- everything's there. I don't know. Just got to zone it back in and figure it out.”
The four home runs matched a career high for Wheeler, who also served up four on May 29 against the Dodgers and June 16, 2024, vs. the Orioles.
The five walks, meanwhile, continued a concerning trend. Wheeler has now walked 15 batters over his past four starts. The only time he’s issued more walks in a four-start span was all the way back in 2014 with the Mets, when he walked 16.
Any time Wheeler did come in the zone against Seattle's hitters, though, they made him pay.
The Mariners jumped on Wheeler early, tagging him for five runs in a disastrous first inning. They tallied four hits in that opening frame, all of which had an exit velocity north of 100 mph. It marked the first time under Statcast tracking (since 2015) that Wheeler allowed four 100 mph hits in the same inning.
“Well, tonight they were taking really good swings, so the first thing I'm gonna check off the box is, ‘Hey, am I doing something to where other teams are seeing it?’” Wheeler said. “At this point, you’ve got to check off all the boxes. It’s not where I want to be. We'll sit down tomorrow and kind of dig in and see what's really going on.”
Overall, the Mariners had eight hard-hit base knocks (exit velocity of 95 mph or higher) off Wheeler, another unwanted high under Statcast tracking (since 2015).
“I would just say, overall, it’s more big misses that you're seeing out of him than usual and then more pitches in the heart of the plate,” longtime battermate J.T. Realmuto said. “As a hitter, it just makes the ball look a little bigger when your misses are big. … That's obviously not what we're used to seeing from him.”
Added Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh: "We were just trying to hunt him in the heart of the plate. … He's a really good pitcher -- tough, good stuff. Obviously, he's been one of the better ones for a long time.”
The second of Raleigh’s three home runs on Monday came after Wheeler returned to the mound for the fifth inning -- a somewhat surprising move by interim manager Don Mattingly.
Despite having given up six runs, seven hits and five walks while throwing 94 pitches through four, Wheeler went back out to start the fifth. He promptly allowed back-to-back homers to Raleigh and Cole Young before Mattingly came to get him.
“He wanted to go back out, and I kind of wanted him to go back out,” Mattingly said. “We were going to keep it short; we weren't going to let him go far. At that point, we're down 6-2 in the fifth, so kind of really need that inning. But didn't get there.”
Excluding Wheeler's rain-shortened outing in Baltimore on Aug. 2, he now has a 9.27 ERA over his past five full starts. He has not pitched more than 5 1/3 innings in any of those outings.
“I mean, I’m just really struggling the past few,” Wheeler said. “All I can really throw for a strike -- a good quality strike -- is a fastball right now, and that's not even fully consistent. So when you're pitching kind of with one pitch, it's pretty hard up here.”
The one positive is that Wheeler's velocity -- aside from his July 27 start in Miami -- has not dipped much during this stretch. That's obviously an encouraging sign for any pitcher, but especially given what Wheeler experienced last August before being diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS).
But he feels fully healthy this time around?
“Yeah,” Wheeler reiterated. “That's why it's so frustrating right now.”
Wheeler likely has five or six more regular-season starts to get on track. His next one is lined up for Sunday against the Angels.
“I'm not concerned that he's not going to get where he needs to get to. Obviously, any time guys struggle … you're concerned about it,” Mattingly said. “You keep working to get better, but you're not like, ‘Oh, this guy's lost it. He's never going to be good again.’”