Pocket aces. It's the best hand you can hope to start with in poker. And in a lot of ways, it's the most appealing starting point for a contending baseball team, too. The problem is how difficult it can be to assemble the aces and bank on them. As the New York Mets know, having them doesn't mean they will be healthy and at the top of their game at the right times. But now, in October, when the cards are laid on the table, the Philadelphia Phillies have them.
. So far this postseason, he has allowed one run in 12 2/3 innings, and that was unearned, the product of first baseman Rhys Hoskins prematurely fist pumping what should have been an inning-ending double play.If the Phillies reach the World Series, it may be on the back of the two-headed monster on the mound — which was the plan, back in 2011, when the last great Phillies teams came up short and then collapsed despite the efforts of Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee.
In a lot of ways, Wheeler and Nola have similar plans on the mound. They can both wield two different fastballs, though in this strikeout-heavy era they lean on four-seamers that “run” enough — move toward the arm side — to at least limit contact when they are hit without being full ground-ball pitches. As a great many pitchers narrow their arsenals and lean on breaking pitches, the Phillies’ aces don’t veer that far from the traditional workhorse.
The Phillies defense is still not good, but it’s less of a disaster than it was even earlier this season. And under the microscope of the postseason, everyone is starting to see just how dominant Nola and Wheeler can be.
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