PHILADELPHIA -- Zack Wheeler smirked and directed some choice words toward the Blue Jays' dugout.
Toronto hitting coach David Popkins had just been ejected by home-plate umpire John Tumpane with two outs in the top of the fourth inning. But the Blue Jays had been jawing from the get-go of Friday night’s game at Citizens Bank Park.
It turns out they had an issue with Wheeler’s delivery. The claim -- one Wheeler had never heard until this year -- was that his back foot is coming off the rubber to the first-base side during his windup.
“The umpire said they've seen video where there's times where he's off,” interim manager Don Mattingly said after the Phillies’ 5-4 loss. “Our guys have looked at it and had conversations with MLB, basically talking about how the angle of our center-field camera makes it look like he's off, but when they show the overhead [angle], he's on."
The Blue Jays attempted to call it out repeatedly -- to no avail.
“I saw them talking after the first or second, and then John told me to make sure I stay on the rubber,” Wheeler said. “I threw one TV game earlier this year, and I guess MLB thought I was off the rubber, but we have the data that showed that I was on.
“… So then that [fourth] inning, I think their hitting coach just yelled, 'Get him on the rubber!' And John tossed him.”
Wheeler looked into the third-base dugout and mouthed an expletive toward … who exactly?
“The hitting coach,” Wheeler confirmed.
Wheeler said the issue was first brought up following the club’s nationally televised game on June 21 against the Mets. But the Blue Jays -- who have struggled to a 55-62 record after winning the AL pennant last season -- were the first opponent to openly complain during a game.
“I've been pitching over there forever, and I'm gonna keep doing it,” Wheeler said. “They've lost a lot of games over there, so they're probably trying to pick some things up to complain about.”
“Let me say this first and foremost, Zack Wheeler is an unbelievable pitcher and has been for a long time," said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. "I have all the respect in the world for him. We were just getting information that his foot was off the rubber on the first-base side. … It’s hard to see in real time.
"This dude’s been pitching at an elite level for his entire career. ... But it was just an example of our hitting coach kind of protecting the players and me doing the same."
On a night when the Phillies badly needed length from Wheeler due to a depleted bullpen, the veteran righty grinded his way through the early innings. He allowed one run apiece in the second, third and fourth innings before a clean -- and more importantly, efficient -- nine-pitch fifth inning.
Things did not go nearly as well in the sixth, as Wheeler engaged in a showdown unlike any other in his 12-year career.
Hoping to get through one more inning, Wheeler found himself at 101 pitches when right fielder Nathan Lukes stepped into the box with two runners on and one out. Lukes proceeded to foul off 10 pitches in a 15-pitch battle that ended with a line-drive base hit to load the bases.
The 15-pitch struggle tied the longest of Wheeler's career. The only other time he threw 15 pitches in a single plate appearance also came against the Blue Jays -- but that one ended in a strikeout of Santiago Espinal on July 13, 2022.
As for this one, it was the longest at-bat ending in a hit against any Phillies pitcher since pitch count data was first tracked in 1988. The previous longest was 13 (done six times).
By the time it was over, Wheeler's pitch count had ballooned to 116 -- the most pitches he's thrown in an outing since May 6, 2021 (118).
"Tired, I'm not gonna lie,” Wheeler said when asked how he felt after the game. “It was hot and humid, and the air was just still. I still had juice in me there at the end, but yeah, I was a little tired."
Wheeler also issued his most walks (five) since April 7, 2019, when he was still with the Mets. Despite all that, he grinded his way to keeping it a 3-2 ballgame at the time he walked off the mound.
The Phillies simply could not get the big hit to back him up.
They had runners on second and third with nobody out for the top of the order in the fifth inning, only for Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper to strike out in succession. They loaded the bases in the seventh, but newcomer Luis Arraez lined out to end the threat.
They loaded the bases again in the bottom of the ninth – this time with nobody out – while trailing by three. They cut the deficit to one and still had the bases loaded with only one out, but Alec Bohm chopped a ball over the mound that led to a force out at home and Brandon Marsh grounded out to end it.
“Obviously got to be better in those situations,” Harper said of the missed opportunities. “Just got to be better. I ain't got much for you. It's just got to be better in those situations and get those guys in.”