BOSTON -- Zack Wheeler isn't just back, he might be back.
There were plenty of encouraging signs through Wheeler's first three starts, but we hadn't quite seen the efficiency that Wheeler has been known for over the past half-decade.
That is, until the Phillies' 2-1 win on Tuesday night at Fenway Park.
Wheeler made quick work -- literally -- of the Red Sox lineup early on, needing only 16 pitches to cruise through the first three innings. That's not just the fewest pitches Wheeler has thrown through three innings, but it's the fewest any starting pitcher has needed to complete three frames since at least 2000.
The previous fewest during that span was 18 -- a mark shared by Omar Daal (for the Phillies in 2001), Curt Schilling (2002 D-backs) and Livan Hernandez (2004 Expos).
Wheeler, meanwhile, had never done it on fewer than 25 pitches.
Incredibly, he didn't go to even a two-ball count until the fourth inning. And while he more than doubled his pitch count in an 18-pitch fourth, Wheeler ultimately kept the Red Sox off the board until the seventh, when a bloop RBI single plated Boston's lone run off the right-hander.
With such a manageable pitch count, though, Wheeler not only finished off the seventh but also recorded another out in the eighth before handing it off to the bullpen. He needed only 87 pitches (57 strikes) to take down a season-high 7 1/3 innings. It also marked his first outing without a walk this season.
Wheeler had four strikeouts. All six hits he allowed were singles.
The dominant outing lowered Wheeler's ERA to 2.55 through four starts as he continues to ramp up after missing the first month of the season while recovering from thoracic outlet decompression surgery last September.