Zack Wheeler wasn't quite as sharp in his second rehab outing with Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday night -- but his defense also didn't do him any favors.
The three-time All-Star was one out away from finishing off three scoreless innings against the Durham Bulls before things went a bit sideways. With two on and two outs, Raynel Delgado lifted a fly ball to left-center field that appeared poised to end the threat.
However, the ball landed between left fielder Óscar Mercado and center fielder Pedro León, allowing a pair of runners to score. Wheeler then hit the next batter before falling behind 3-0 against Jacob Melton. Wheeler pumped a fastball down the middle, but Melton was swinging away on the 3-0 count and crushed a three-run homer to right field.
Wheeler retired the next batter to finish off the frame, but his night was over after a 27-pitch inning. He ultimately allowed five runs off four hits and two walks while striking out only one over three innings.
”I thought he was pretty sharp for the first two innings,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said on Saturday. “It was 22 pitches, I think, the first two innings and then he lost the command a little bit in the third. A lot of arm-side misses. … But the first two innings were good.”
Wheeler threw 49 pitches, only 26 of which went for strikes. He threw 23 four-seam fastballs, a pitch that averaged 92.7 mph and topped out at 93.9 mph. That was down slightly from his first rehab start exactly one week ago, when his four-seamer topped out at 94.3 mph and averaged 93.3 mph.
Thomson didn’t seem to be worried about Wheeler’s dip in velocity.
“It’s still [like] Spring Training for him,” Thomson said. “That’s not gonna be his last [rehab] outing. … There’s at least one more after that. But I’m expecting the velo to go up as he gets more pitches under his belt and more innings under his belt, and then go up again when the adrenaline really hits when he gets here.”
Wheeler is expected to make another rehab start for Lehigh Valley on Wednesday, and in the interim, Thomson said the right-hander would go back to Citizens Bank Park and throw a bullpen either on Sunday or Monday. It's possible he could rejoin the Phillies following Wednesday’s outing, or he could make another rehab appearance.
Regardless, barring any setbacks, the veteran right-hander remains on track to rejoin Philadelphia's rotation at some point in April.