Wheeler Returns, Vierling Comes Up Huge as Philadelphia Phillies Stop Losing Skid

Five was the magic number on Wednesday night, as Matt Vierling went 5-for-5 at the plate to end the Philadelphia Phillies' five-game losing streak.

Author:
Leo Morgenstern
Sep 22, 2022 10:41 AM EDT

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Philadelphia Phillies

There comes a point in every baseball season where the phrase "must-win game" starts to sound like a cliché. In actuality, each team only has a handful of truly must-win games each season. But there can be many more contests that feel like must-wins, especially when a team is right on the cusp of contention.

Wednesday night was one of those contests for the Philadelphia Phillies.

After five straight losses at the hands of the Marlins, Braves, and Blue Jays, the Phillies dropped behind the Padres in the NL Wild Card standings. Their lead over the Brewers fell to just 2.5 games. More than half their remaining games were going to against stronger opponents.

Philadelphia's once-comfortable hold on a postseason berth was slipping away. They needed to get back on track. So, as cliché as it sounds, and as many times as it's been said before, this really did feel like a must-win game for the Phillies. And thankfully, they took that to heart.

The game began as a pitchers' duel between Zack Wheeler and Kevin Gausman, with neither team allowing a run throughout the first seven innings.

Wheeler was electric, going four innings on 58 pitches and striking out three. He looked just like the ace Phillies fans know and love, and it was a welcome sight to see him back at Citizens Bank Park dominating an opposing lineup. He lost a little velocity as the night when on, but that's to be expected, and he still looked sharp through his final inning.

Noah Syndergaard entered in the fifth as Wheeler's piggyback partner and did an admirable job, pitching two more scoreless innings.

Unfortunately, Gausman was just as sharp for the Blue Jays, keeping Philadelphia scoreless through six frames and striking out eight batters. He stranded runners at third base in each of his final three innings. Wheeler and Syndergaard are used to getting very little run support from the Phillies' offense, and it looked like tonight might be no different.

Finally, in the eighth inning, the scoring got started. It was Toronto that struck first, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushed a three-run home run off of Seranthony Domínguez, who hasn't quite looked like himself since returning from the injured list.

To great relief, Philadelphia got all of those runs back with an exciting bottom of the eighth.

J.T. Realmuto got the scoring started with a home run, his third in as many games. The catcher has gone 8-for-11 with three home runs in the past three days, doing everything he possibly could to get the Phillies out of their skid.

With two outs, no one on base, and Philadelphia still down by two, Jean Segura slapped an infield single, his speciality, and advanced to second on a throwing error by shortstop Bo Bichette. The next batter was the rookie Dalton Guthrie, who came up big for the second day in a row, hitting an RBI single to right field.

After a long at-bat, Matt Vierling eventually managed to knock a single into right field, advancing Guthrie to third. With the tying run in scoring position and the winning run on first base, the Blue Jays were forced to bring in their closer early.

Jordan Romano, who has been excellent this season, entered and gave up the tying run on a Kyle Schwarber single. It was a nice moment of revenge for the Phillies, who had watched their own homegrown star closer blow the game open just half an inning prior. The ballgame was tied at three.

Fast forward to the top of the tenth inning, and Toronto had the bases loaded with one out. It looked like things might take a disastrous turn when Teoscar Hernández lined one straight up the middle, but an absolutely phenomenal play from Segura saved the day. With a speedy grab, he caught the line drive and dove back to the second base bag in time to make the double play

In the bottom of the tenth, Bryson Stott led things off, sacrificing the designated runner over the third base. Segura was hit by a pitch, Guthrie walked, and Vierling stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs.

The nine-hole hitter came through with the game-winning hit, his fifth of the night. It might very well have been the most important game of the young outfielder's career.

The Phillies won the game 4-3, ending their five-game losing streak, and Vierling was mobbed by his adoring teammates.

The Philadelphia Phillies are now one day closer to a postseason berth. Zack Wheeler is back and he looks healthy, which will make a world of difference even if his pitch count is limited. The losing streak is over the the energy is back up.

Hopefully, that momentum will help the Phillies stay competitive as they welcome the Braves for a four-game set at Citizens Bank Park this weekend.