'No moment,' Bryce Harper said, 'is too big for Zack Wheeler.' The Phillies' ace rose to the occasion again as they took a 1-0 series lead.
wandered into the dugout at 4:53 p.m. ET wearing a red T-shirt, gray sweatpants and black Nike sides with white socks. He leaned on the top step. He stared at the Citizens Bank Park mound. And, for the next 32 minutes, the Phillies’ ace did not move.
“I think everybody in this organization appreciates what he’s done,” manager Rob Thomson said, “because it’s been phenomenal.” The sweeper was interesting enough in the spring to carry it into the season. But, often, other pitches took precedence over the sweeper. The new toy didn’t always move the way he wanted it to move. It looked like a ball out of his hand too many times. The next step in refining the pitch during the second half of the season, Cotham said, was starting it higher.“So it plays in the thigh line away from the righty,” Cotham said. “It’s to take advantage of aggression.
Here was Wheeler, leaning on a pitch he had not thrown before this season, in an important postseason game. His fastball had extra juice, but he had other weapons. That’s evolution.
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