Whew! Phillies hang on to win Wheeler's gem originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Zack Wheeler pitched his best game in red pinstripes and Rhys Hoskins had a huge day at the plate. Together, they led the Phillies to a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Monday night.
Wheeler pitched eight innings of one-hit ball. He walked three and struck out nine.
Wheeler pitched into the ninth. Manager Joe Girardi removed him at 114 pitches after he walked the leadoff hitter, Matt Carpenter.
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The Cardinals scored one in the ninth, but Hector Neris hung on for a highwire save. He got the final two outs with a man on second base.
The final putout was recorded by Odubel Herrera on a drive to the wall in center.
Wheeler got all the run support he needed from Hoskins, who homered twice against St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright.
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Wainwright went all nine innings. He gave up just six hits and walked none.
The Phillies are 11-11 overall and 2-2 on the road trip.
One hit
In his 16th start with the Phillies, Wheeler did not allow a baserunner until Paul DeJong capped a nine-pitch at-bat with a base hit with two outs in the fifth inning.
The right-hander featured power stuff, down in the zone, all night. His fastball topped out at 99 mph.
Wheeler is 2-2 on the season.
The big blow
Wainwright allowed just three hits through the first six innings and carried a shutout in the seventh. For much of the night, the right-hander relied on his curveball, which has long been one of the best in the game. The pitch was sharp most of the night, but not with a 2-2 count on Hoskins in the seventh. Wainwright hung the pitch and Hoskins crushed it into the second deck above left field to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead.
Hoskins homered again in the top of the ninth and it proved to be huge. He leads the team with eight.
J.T. Realmuto had three hits for the Phillies.
Transactions
There were lots of them, including the addition of Herrera, who played in his first big-league game since May 2019. Herrera started in center field and went hitless
Up next
Zach Eflin (1-0, 2.77) pitches against Carlos Martinez (0-4, 6.00) on Tuesday night.
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