Brandon Marsh got the Phillies on the board first, but the center fielder's missed catch in the seventh inning proved costly.
Brandon Marsh got the Phillies on the board first, but the center fielder's missed catch in the seventh inning proved costly.to the Braves on Friday wasn’t just frustrating because the bullpen blew a lead; it was also because of what was going well. Their defense looked strong. Their lineup struggled, but there were some small wins. Alec Bohm went 2-for-4. Johan Rojas took 15 pitches in three at-bats, worked a walk off Strider, and swung at only one pitch out of the zone.
Wheeler’s outing, in particular, should be looked as a harbinger of good things to come. He had spent the spring refining his new pitch — a splitter — and used it against a tough Braves lineup on Friday. He recorded his first strikeout of the day using an 86 mph splitter that dove below the zone in the third inning. Ronald Acuña Jr. looked perplexed.
This outing carried some special significance for Wheeler, who was making the first opening-day start of his career. With his performance on Friday, he became the first Phillies starter since Roy Halladay to throw at least six scoreless innings in an opening-day start. He likely could have gone further into the game if he hadn’t missed a start this spring, but he had only been built out to 66 pitches.
“Fantastic swing,” Kyle Schwarber said. “Man, going oppo through the wind, putting a great swing on the fastball … can’t say enough about that swing and what he’s been able to do since coming back from injury to get himself prepared for the season. Really looking forward to seeing the year that he’s putting up.”
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