Phillies crush Miller, Wheeler departs early in big win over Dodgers

Final Score: Phillies 10, Dodgers 1

The Phillies and Dodgers have somehow avoided each other’s presence in each of the last two postseasons. If a potential playoff matchup goes the way Tuesday unfolded, Los Angeles is in trouble.

The Phillies took advantage of Dodgers starter Bobby Miller’s awful command and tagged him for nine runs through four innings. The game was a manageable 3-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth and 10 pitches later, the Phillies scored five runs to stretch the lead to 8-0. Trea Turner hit a first-pitch grand slam to left field and Bryson Stott hit his first home run since May 18. Overall, the Phillies scored nine runs on 10 hits and walked three times against Miller. Tuesday was his third start of the season after missing most of the year with right shoulder inflammation. Miller has an 8.07 ERA through 29 innings.

On the other side, Zack Wheeler dominated through four, but hit a roadblock in the fifth. He allowed only two hits with six strikeouts through four, but lost the zone in the fifth after getting the first two outs. He fell behind to Cavan Biggio and allowed a home run, then walked both Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith before getting Freddie Freeman to ground out to end the inning. The Phillies later announced that Wheeler left the game with left low back tightness, which could explain his struggles in the zone.

Actually, if this was a playoff game, both teams would be in massive trouble. The Phillies’ chances of winning a title are significantly lower without Wheeler. Phillies fans should hope that the early hook was just out of precaution.

In other scary news, Johan Rojas was hit in the wrist in the bottom of the seventh inning. He was in some pain, but stayed to run the bases. Cristian Pache replaced him in center field in the eighth inning.

We’ll learn more about Wheeler and Rojas when Rob Thomson speaks to the media.

Highlights

• The game began with an awesome Ohtani versus Wheeler matchup. Ohtani fouled off the first pitch, a 98 mph fastball off the outside corner. Wheeler came inside with two more 97-98 fastballs and induced two ugly swings to get the strikeout on three pitches.

• Miller’s tendency to get behind hurt him in the second. The Phillies scored three times on a Rafael Marchan single and two more on a returning Kyle Schwarber two-run single.

• Turner crushed his sixth-career grand slam and first since 2021 in the fourth on a first-pitch hanger.

• Three batters later, Stott crushed his first home run in nearly 40 games to expand the lead to 9-0.

• After hitting a few balls hard, Brandon Marsh was rewarded with a solo home run to right field against right-handed pitcher Michael Peterson. He also recorded an outfield assist in the top of the ninth inning.

Notes

• The first test of Harper’s ability to tone it down came in the very first inning. He hit a 92.6 mph liner in and out of the glove of Freddie Freeman that should have been a double play. Freeman could not get Turner out at second, but he did beat Harper in a race to the bag for the out at first. Harper at full speed probably gets to the bag, but there was no need to risk anything the first day back from injury. He was pulled from the game in the seventh. There was no immediate injury designation by the team, so take that as good news for now.
• The Dodgers also pulled Freeman and Ohtani from the game early. The game time temperature at first pitch was 93 degrees.
• This game ended up looking nothing like a postseason game. The two teams combined for seven substitutions.
• The Dodgers’ Kike Hernandez made his second career appearance on the mound during the seventh inning. As Todd Zolecki of MLB.com pointed out, the first also came at Citizens Bank Park, when he allowed a three-run walk-off home run to Trevor Plouffe in the bottom of the 16th inning on July 24, 2018.
• Marchan went 3-for-3 with two doubles.

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