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 on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park.
"I don't want to hear about the rubber anymore," Tumpane could be heard saying on the broadcast.
The Blue Jays, it seemed, had been expressing displeasure with Wheeler's delivery -- claiming that he was not maintaining contact with the pitching rubber the entire time.
So, while Blue Jays manager John Schneider strolled out to talk to Tumpane, Wheeler shared his thoughts from the mound. Some Toronto players jawed back from the third-base dugout before cooler heads prevailed in the Phillies' 5-4 loss.
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).