Phillies Close Out Odd but Successful First Half with Zack Wheeler Masterclass Start: ‘We are in Sprint Mode Right Now’

The first half of the 2026 MLB season is officially in the books, and to say the Philadelphia Phillies needed to get to this point is an understatement.

Back on April 26, the Phillies were defeated by their rivals, the Atlanta Braves, putting them at 9-19 overall and 10.5 games behind Atlanta for first place in the National League East. They were a season-high 10 games under .500 and, at that time, tied with the Mets for the worst record in the entire National League.

Things couldn’t be worse for the Phillies, who were pegged as one of the favorites to win the National League pennant and the World Series, and all of a sudden were one of the worst teams in baseball. Rob Thomson was essentially the sacrifice for the Phillies’ poor start to the 2026 season, as all of the blame was pushed onto Thomson when, in reality, there were far bigger issues in the Phillies organization. The offense was inconsistent as it always was, the starting pitching staff outside of Cristopher Sanchez was abysmal, and the team just didn’t look like themselves on the field.

No matter what decision was made, it was the wrong one, and due to that terrible start, the Phillies had to make a leadership change, and they did just that, promoting Don Mattingly from bench coach to manager.

Since that day, the Phillies haven’t looked back, and now they sit with a 54-43 record, two games back of the Braves for first place in the division, with a top-seven record in all of baseball. Under Mattingly, the Phillies are 45-24, one of the best records in all of baseball over that time.

It’s been a complete 180 for this group, who seemed like at one point 2026 was a lost season for this club, and then all of a sudden they’re right back to the point where they were supposed to be when the year began. The Phillies are now in place to once again fight for a division title, a top record in baseball, and a World Series, and that’s been in large part to the slack being picked up from the entire Phillies faithful.

The players essentially got Thomson fired; it’s no secret that their poor starts got their manager canned, and Mattingly let them know that right after he took over, telling the team in a meeting that “This is on you guys,” regarding his takeover.

Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber led the pack when it came to inconsistent play, and Trea Turner, Alec Bohm, Adolis Garcia, Bryson Stott and essentially every starting position player not named Brandon Marsh were off to horrible starts to 2026.

At-bats were being wasted; it seemed like it was homer or bust throughout multiple games, and games were offense was doing well seemed not to be able to close out due to poor bullpen performances. Everything was going wrong, and all of a sudden, things changed, and a big reason for that came due to the return of arguably the team’s best player, Zack Wheeler.

Last season, Wheeler was well on his way to finishing at the top of the Cy Young voting and was the near-favorite alongside eventual winner Paul Skenes before suffering a blood clot injury in August, requiring thoracic outlet decompression surgery, forcing him to miss the remainder of the 2025 season.

The Phillies’ 2025 dreams, while not dead, seemed crushed, and that proved so as they went on to lose their first-round playoff series to the Dodgers, ending their chase for a world title. Losing Wheeler was a huge blow, one that rolled into this season as well, as Wheeler was set to miss the first month of more of the season due to rehab from the surgery.

Being the top dog that he is, Wheeler turned what was supposed to be a multiple-month rehab into a one-month rehab stint, getting back to the Phillies rotation right as Thomson was set to be fired, right when they needed him most.

Since his first start this year, Wheeler has taken the mound for the Phillies 15 times, and in those 15 starts, the Phillies as a team have lost just two of those games, one being a walk-off winner and the sole blown save of the season for Jhoan Duran, and the other being a loss to the Dodgers in which Wheeler allowed four solo home runs.

Every time Wheeler has stepped out on the mound, he’s given this Phillies team an outstanding chance to win a game, and that energy has spread throughout this club, and it’s shown over the past couple of months.

It was capped off with an incredible performance from the right-handed pitcher who tossed six innings of shutout baseball against the Detroit Tigers, totaling 10 strikeouts for the third consecutive start for just the second time in his career. He also passed Jim Bunning for eighth place all-time on the Phillies career strikeout list, crossing 1,200 K’s during his time in Philly.

Wheeler was dominant all game long, not allowing a Tigers runner to reach second base until his final inning of work, and helping secure a 5-0 victory for the Phillies’ league-high 12th shutout on the season. Wheeler and a series win to close out the first half. It was an impressive win for the club, one in which they had to go through the reigning American League Cy Young winner, Tarik Skubal, to win the series.

“He’s one of the best pitchers in the game, if not the best, back-to-back Cy Young. He’s going to bring it. You also have to [have a chip on your shoulder],” Wheeler said postgame on Skubal. “Facing guys like Skenes, [Chris] Sale, Skubal, you’ve got to step up your game because you know they’re gonna pitch very well the majority of the time.”

The starting pitching has always provided for this, but the offense, while not in a major amount in this one, provided enough in big spots to pull out five runs to pick up the win. Everyone did their part; Schwarber and Stott grabbed RBI singles, Harper and Turner got knocks, and J.T. Realmuto came through big with a three-run RBI double.

“This, for me, was probably our best game of the year. So many things went the way we wanted to go,” Mattingly said following the victory. “It just ended up being one of those games that you’re really happy about your club and the way we played, and kind of the small things that we talk about coming into play. Really proud of our club today.”

The team did exactly what this team has to do when it gets into must-win games down the stretch and in the postseason. It sounds easier than it seems, as we’ve said the same thing year after year, and when it comes to showing that energy in October, it just hasn’t happened.

But the major change and the thing that has been apparent since the takeover of Mattingly is that the team has realized that they’re running out of time, and they’re not just dogging it until October. They’re making it feel like if they lose today, they’re done for the season, and it felt that way heading into the final two series of the season and over the last few months.

“The break didn’t start till now, until after the game, and that’s tough,” Mattingly said regarding the team not dogging it heading into the All-Star break. “I’ve been around enough to know that guys who aren’t going to the game or making plans, they want to be with their family, and they got a couple days off. So it’s easy to say whatever happens today is fine. We are in sprint mode right now. We have put ourselves in the pack and can now see the leader.”

The Phillies were 55-41 at the break last year. They are 54-43 at the break this year. Nearly identical records, but this year featured a 10-game losing streak and a 9-19 start to the year. The squad has rallied around each other, through thick and thin, ups and downs, and has managed to get right back into the thick of the race for the world title.

This Phillies team is still far from perfect, and the flaws of this group are still heavily on display over the past few months. The bullpen needs major help, left-handed relievers mainly, as well as an answer in the outfield following the loss of Garcia. The starting rotation is headlined by three studs up top but may need some help down the stretch.

Either way, the end-all, end-all for the Phillies come October is if this group can keep the bats hot, not get into slumps, and produce enough runs for their starters to take care of business. With the trade deadline weeks away, the Phillies will make moves and hopefully the right ones to help improve this club.

The Phillies are a shoo-in to get back to the postseason for a fifth straight season, and if they get their will be at the top of the betting board to win it all. For a team that was doubted and counted out a month into the season, they’ve battled back and earned the position they’re currently in at the All-Star break. If they can keep this pace up for the final two-and-a-half months of the regular season, Red October will be back on display for the hometown fans to enjoy.

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