After one of the Phillies’ aces beat the Blue Jays in Monday’s series opener, the red-hot Phils will send another star pitcher to the mound on Tuesday in Toronto.
Right-hander Zack Wheeler will take the ball for Philadelphia, opposing Blue Jays righty Dylan Cease in what should be a stellar matchup of starters at Rogers Centre (7:07 p.m. ET).
Wheeler has a 5-1 record and a 2.31 ERA in eight starts since returning from thoracic outlet decompression surgery, making his first appearance of the season on April 25 in Atlanta. Since then, he’s been nothing short of excellent, completing six or more innings in each of his past seven starts and notching six quality starts.
The veteran righty has faced some tough competition, including a four-start stretch from May 12-29 where he faced the Pirates in Pittsburgh, the Red Sox at Fenway Park, the Guardians at home and the Dodgers in Los Angeles. He still posted a 1.71 ERA in that stretch, so he surely won’t be fazed by a Blue Jays team that, while dangerous, is off to a disappointing offensive start.
Wheeler has fared well against most of Toronto’s top hitters in the past, holding Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a 2-for-13 line (.154 batting average) and keeping Daulton Varsho (1-for-10, .100) and George Springer (2-for-8, .250) mostly at bay. Of the Blue Jays who have had success against Wheeler, Jesús Sánchez is 6-for-20 (.300) with a walk and a double, and Ernie Clement -- who homered Monday against Cy Young contender Cristopher Sánchez -- is 2-for-2.
Wheeler last faced the Blue Jays on June 15, 2025, in Philadelphia, pitching six innings of one-run ball, striking out nine and getting his first win against the club in seven career starts. Overall, he has a 1-2 record against Toronto with a 3.92 ERA.
This season, Wheeler’s return from thoracic outlet syndrome has been part of the reason for the Phillies’ surge following a slow start. After beginning the season 9-19 and dismissing manager Rob Thomson, Philadelphia is 27-11 under new skipper Don Mattingly and sits in second place in the National League East. In addition to Sánchez’s incredible year, Wheeler has been a steady presence in the rotation, building up quickly to a full workload and remaining effective.
He’ll still be tested on the road against a Blue Jays team that hasn’t quite come together after winning the 2025 American League pennant. After winning four straight games to reach .500 at 29-29 on May 29, Toronto lost four in a row and enters Tuesday three games under at 32-35, third in the AL East.