Zach Eflin calls out Zack Wheeler 'disrespect' at ASG originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Zack Wheeler got snubbed in the 2021 MLB All-Star Game in a big way, and one of his teammates was none too pleased with the treatment.
Wheeler entered the Tuesday night's game tied for first in the NL in WAR, second in the NL in strikeouts, and fourth in the NL in ERA, but he couldn't get sniff the kind of respect he deserved out in Colorado.
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Despite being one of the NL's best pitchers through the first half of the season, Wheeler was snubbed out of the start when Jacob deGrom opted out - and then somehow didn't see action until there were two outs in the top of the ninth inning.
It's a ridiculous spot to put the second-best pitcher in the National League, and even though Wheeler unsurprisingly dominated, striking out Omar Narvaez with three strikes to close out the side, Wheeler's teammate Zach Eflin took to Twitter after the out to vent about the perceived disrespect:
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And the Phillies' official Twitter account replied in kind:
Wheeler is having a career year, but because he's playing on a middling Phillies team and because he doesn't have the instant name recognition of a deGrom or the personality of a Max Scherzer, he's an afterthought in baseball's summer classic.
It feels extremely weird for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts decided to wait that long to put Wheeler out on the mound. At that point, you might as well just keep him out the whole way and let him have the night off.
If any Phillies fans are interested in letting Roberts know they didn't appreciate the disrespect, the Dodgers visit Citizens Bank Park in the second week of August.
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