After four years in Philly, Zack Wheeler knows the crowd will be loud, the drinks will be flowing and Citizens Bank Park will be in for a big game.
“I knew it was going to be crazy,” he said after the Phillies opened their 2023 postseason with a 4-1 win over the Marlins, “but I didn’t expect it. That was great.”
It’s a legitimate home-field advantage that was mentioned frequently by opposing teams last October, and it took an entire playoff game for the opposing manager to reference it after his team lost to the Phillies on Tuesday night.
“The crowd was excited, there’s no doubt about that,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “It’s a really good team, playoff-tested. … I think the story was Wheeler. He was just excellent.”
The Phillies appeared to be the more prepared team on Tuesday. They had baserunners early and often. Wheeler pitched a gem in the seventh inning. The bullpen delivered zeros. Every starting player had a hit. They played clean defense, including on the first play of the game when Luis Arraez played a ball sharply to Cristian Pache in left field. The ball was caught and the Marlins wouldn’t hit another ball into the outfield until Josh Bell doubled in the seventh inning, 20 batters later.
“It was electric,” Trea Turner said of the atmosphere in his first playoff games as a Phillie. “It was a lot of fun. Right from the start I find the intros pretty funny. I just laugh at the energy and the fact that the other team has to deal with it somehow. Always kind of fun.”
“But they were good. They were good the entire game from the first inning, striking out every two. It was fun to be a part of it.”
Turner went 2-3 with a double, a walk and two stolen bases in his Phillies playoff debut. Alec Bohm drove in the first run. JT Realmuto scored the second run. Nick Castellanos doubled twice. The Phillies knew they would need their right-handers to face a Marlins team that has seven left-handers on its 12-man pitching staff, and that’s what they did. Those four were a combined 6 of 15 with four doubles, while Johan Rojas scored the first run and Pache drove in the third.
“We believe everyone is here for a reason and we all have a contribution to make,” Turner said. “We’re working on things, whether it’s on offense or on the pitching staff, whatever it may be. The bullpen was great. Our at-bats, I think, handled themselves pretty well with a good pitching staff. They have really good arms there.”
“We knew it wouldn’t be easy, but we did it. It was a good team win.”
Wheeler had his best. He started Game 1 in three of the Phillies’ five playoff series over the past 12 months, winning all three. His fastball velocity increased by a full mile per hour Tuesday night, sitting at 98-99 early. For the second straight year, the speed and finish of his pitches look better than in the regular season, despite carrying a heavy workload for the fourth straight year.
How is that even possible? He praised the crowd.
“To be honest, I don’t know. It must be the atmosphere and the adrenaline,” Wheeler said. “As soon as I stepped foot out of the dugout to stretch out in the bullpen, the crowd went crazy and I got goosebumps. So it started right there. I think throwing the baseball affected me in some way. It definitely helps.
“You never take it for granted. Like I said, when I walked out of the dugout to the bullpen, I immediately got goosebumps. I knew it was going to be crazy, but I wasn’t expecting it. That was great.” They really got me going.
“That’s why we all love playing here at home. Throughout the game, maybe on a 3-2 pitch or sometimes with two strikeouts, the crowd goes crazy and you just sit there and take it in for a second and then lock it back in and go after the guy.
Wheeler took his career as a Phillie to the next level. You rarely hear him referred to as a “superstar,” but the description fits. Since signing with the Phillies after 2019, he has been one of the top five starting pitchers in all of baseball. If you’re interested in WAR (Wins Above Replacement), he leads all starting pitchers during that time.
He now has a 2.58 ERA and 0.73 WHIP in seven playoff starts. Fewer than three baserunners every four innings. On the grandest stages, under the most intense scrutiny, against some of the best hitters and teams baseball has to offer.
“I hope (people) appreciate it, because I definitely do,” manager Rob Thomson said. “I think everyone in this organization appreciates what he did because it was phenomenal. Tonight is no exception, so hopefully he continues.”
Wheeler is an old school guy. He is honest when he speaks, says what he means, and usually doesn’t feel like talking about himself. His response to the question of whether he felt adequately valued was not surprising.
“I just feel like I’m honestly doing my job,” he said. “That’s why I came here and that’s why the Phillies signed me, to pitch like I am. Maybe some people didn’t expect it or were afraid of it at first because of my past, but I knew what I was capable of.” .
“It was fun. It was a fun ride. To get to the postseason, there’s nothing like it. I just try to do the exact same thing, but I think my adrenaline and everything goes up, and it just plays a little bit more, and sometimes that helps you.”
Wheeler would start Game 2 in Atlanta should the Phillies get another win over the Marlins and advance to the NLDS.
But first, they could use a start of similar quality from Game 2 pitcher this round, Aaron Nola.
“He’s a guy you can rely on,” Thomson said. “He and Nola have been in some pretty big games the last few postseasons.”