Phillies Bounce Back With 4-2 Win Over Braves Behind Dominant Zack Wheeler Start
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler throws in the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in Philadelphia. Laurence Kesterson - FR170723 AP
Zack Wheeler may be back, folks.
The past two months have been, well, let’s face it, downright disappointing for the Phillies ace Zack Wheeler, as the right-hander went through one of his worst stretches as a starter not only since he arrived in Philadelphia, but also one of the worst stretches in his career.
In his six starts from July 27-August 24, Wheeler tossed 24.1 innings, allowing 24 total runs, 23 earned runs for an 8.51 ERA. He also allowed eight home runs and 16 walks, with the catalyst of this stretch being the final start, when he allowed a career-high eight runs to the Seattle Mariners over just four innings.
However, following that start, Wheeler bounced back in a big way, tossing six innings of one-run ball against the Los Angeles Angels, helping lead the Phillies to a 5-2 victory for his first win since July 12. Many were wondering if it was only the Angels and that his great start was a fluke performance, but after Saturday night, it’s safe to say Wheeler may be back to his old self.
Wheeler tossed six innings of one-run ball, the one run coming on a solo home run off the bat of Ronald Acuna Jr. He allowed just three hits overall, striking out nine batters, the most strikeouts he had in a game since he tossed nine back on July 21 against the Dodgers.
All night, Wheeler was in control, making the Braves lineup look silly for the majority of the evening. It was a big spark for the Phillies that needed dominance after the previous night saw their other ace, Christopher Sanchez, gave up only three runs and picked up his first loss since early July.
Well, while Wheeler’s final stat line shows a dominant start, the first three batters of the game were far from dominant, as Drake Baldwin and Ronald Acuna Jr. smacked back-to-back singles to lead off the game, and Wheeler walked Matt Olson on five pitches to load the bases.
With his back against the wall early, Wheeler worked back, getting Michael Harris II to pop out, Mauricio Dubón to strike on a challenged third strike from J.T. Realmuto, and Ozzie Albies to fly out to center to get out of the inning clean.
So after escaping an early deficit in the top half of the first, the Phillies offense decided to put the Braves in one in. Martín Pérez was on the mound for Atlanta, and right away you could see he didn’t have his best stuff. Pérez walked Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner to kick off the inning, and after Bryce Harper advanced both runners up 90 feet on a flyout, Luis Arraez singled to right for the first run of the game.
Another walk this time to Alec Bohm loaded the bases, and after a popout from Edmundo Sosa, Realmuto worked another walk, this one bringing in a run. Two runs were all Philadelphia would get as Acuna made an outstanding grab in right field to end the inning.
An inning later, Philadelphia tacked on another run, thanks to a leadoff triple from Derek Hill and a sharp grounder to the right side from Schwarber, bringing him home, extending the lead to three,
Wheeler continued to send down Braves players in order following his rough first inning, but in the third he made his biggest mistake of the night, leaving a 0-1 sweeper down in the zone, which Acuna was able to smoke 450 feet over the left-field fence for a solo home run.
Thankfully for Wheeler, he was able to shake it off and power through the remainder of the third and fourth innings, and in the bottom of the fourth, the Phillies got the run back thanks to a solo bomb of their own off the bat of the Schwarbarian.
It was the 41st homer of the year for Schwarber, ending at time a 0-17 drought. The Phillies threatened later in the inning with back-to-back singles from Harper and Arraez, but after Atlanta pulled Pérez for a right-hander, Bohm grounded out to end the inning.
Despite the offense not adding on, Wheeler continued to battle through the Braves’ order. In the fifth Wheeelr struck out the side, sending Acuna down after he recorded hits in his previous two at-bats against Wheeler. The sixth was similar, with his pitch count getting up, as a pair of flyouts and a strikeout to Olson ended Wheeler’s evening with six innings of one-run ball and nine strikeouts.
With Wheeler out of the game in the seventh, Jonathan Bowlan came on to grab the first of the nine final outs. While he picked up the first two with ease, the third had to wait as he left a heater over the middle for Austin Riley, who smoked it for another solo homer to left.
Bowlan shook it off and finished the inning with a strikeout, and Jose Alvarado quieted down the Braves in the eighth, setting up Jhoan Duran for a save opportunity in the ninth. In the ninth, Duran needed just 11 pitches to send the Braves down 1-2-3, picking up his 30th save of the season and helping the Phillies win 4-2. It’s the 80th win of the season for the Phillies, and they move back to four games behind the Braves for the division lead.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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