Philadelphia Phillies' Zack Wheeler Gets Chased Off Mound By Baltimore Orioles

Zack Wheeler posted one of the worst starts of his career against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, making history for the Philadelphia Phillies in all the wrong ways.

Jun 11, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) throws a pitch during the second inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. | Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

Three days after Aaron Nola put up a rare dud, the Philadelphia Phillies' other ace got shelled as well.

Zack Wheeler took the mound in Sunday's finale against the Baltimore Orioles, needing to lead his team to victory in order to avoid a series loss. Instead, the righty allowed nine hits, two walks and eight earned runs in 4.1 innings.

Four Orioles blasted four home runs off Wheeler – shortstop Gunnar Henderson, left fielder Colton Cowser, catcher Adley Rutschman and second baseman Jordan Westburg.

Philadelphia went on to lose 8-3.

Jordan Westburg joins the party!

The @Orioles have hit four home runs this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/rNAlgD9kmz

— MLB (@MLB) June 16, 2024

Prior to Sunday, Wheeler had never allowed four homers in a single game. He had given up four in his last 10 starts combined. The eight earned runs he got credited for also tied his career high in that category.

According to MLB producer Paul Casella, Wheeler became the first Phillies pitcher to allow eight runs and four home runs since Vicente Padilla on April 19, 2005. He is also the franchise's first pitcher to reach those unsavory numbers in a road game since Stan Baumgartner did so in 1921.

Wheeler allowed one run in 7.0 innings his last time out, which helped the Phillies' rotation make MLB history. At the time, Wheeler, Nola and Ranger Suárez all had winning percentages over .700, ERAs under 3.00, WHIPs under 1.000 and opponent batting averages under .200. They were the first trio in league history ever to hold those marks simultaneously, minimum 75 innings.

Two days later, Nola gave up eight earned runs in 3.2 innings, also tying his own career high. That took his ERA from 2.77 to 3.48 and his WHIP from 0.972 to 1.080.

Wheeler, meanwhile, has seen his ERA balloon from 2.16 to 2.84 and his WHIP climb from 0.935 to 1.011 after Sunday.

The pair is one of the highest-paid pitching duos in baseball, with Nola making $24.6 million and Wheeler making $23.5 million in 2024.

Suárez, whose numbers have not fallen off, is due $5.5 million this season after avoiding arbitration in January.

Still, the Phillies are 47-23, leading the NL East by 8.5 games.

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