Wheeler and Harper lead Phillies to two wins for the price of one originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
MILWAUKEE — There are few better feelings for a manager in need of a win than writing his ace’s name down on the lineup card, and there isn’t an ace in baseball the last five seasons who has delivered as consistently or as dominantly as Zack Wheeler.
Start after start, month after month, year after year, Wheeler has shown up when the Phillies have needed him. Sometimes it’s been to stop a skid. Sometimes it’s to extend a winning streak. Sometimes it’s to set a tone for a series. Sometimes it’s to win a series.
“He’s the Cy Young, man,” Bryce Harper said Tuesday night. “I don’t think anybody in baseball is better than him at this point. People down in Atlanta probably think the same thing about the guy throwing down there. I think he got robbed of it three years ago and I believe he earned it this year.”
Wheeler led the Phillies to a 5-1 win Tuesday, a massive result because it was effectively two wins for the price of one, increasing their lead over the Brewers to five games — four plus the tiebreaker.
The victory clinched the Phillies the season series over Milwaukee. They’re 91-60 and lead the Brewers by five games with 11 to play, positioning the Phils tremendously well to earn at least a top-two seed and first-round playoff bye.
The Phils also picked up a game on the Dodgers, who surprisingly lost a slugfest in Miami. They lead the Dodgers by three games for the top overall playoff seed — two plus the tiebreaker.
Harper made Wheeler a winner with an opposite-field, two-run homer off Frankie Montas in the sixth inning of a tie game. It was Harper’s third in four games and 29th of the season.
“He’s been swinging well,” Wheeler said. “The home runs hadn’t been there but he doesn’t always need to hit home runs. As long as he’s getting hits and putting good at-bats together, home runs will come. I told him probably a week ago, just keep swinging and keep doing your thing, home runs will come.”
Nick Castellanos put the Phils on the board early with a first-pitch, leadoff homer to center in the top of the second, his 21st of the year. It was a welcome sign for a player who’d hit .178 over his last 13 games and .114 in September against starting pitchers.
The Brewers were held in check most of the night by Wheeler. He pitched seven innings of one-run ball, worked ahead, missed bats, threw his four-seamer just above the zone for called strikes and…