World Series: Wheeler's night goes south in Phillies' Game 2 loss to Astros
HOUSTON (CBS) -- All Zack Wheeler could do was watch the ball fly over the wall in left-center field at Minute Maid Park as Astros fans roared in excitement.
It was Houston's night – not Wheeler's.
And the home run hit by Astros third baseman Alex Bregman midway through the game signaled his night was about to end.
In a game where the Phillies could've stolen another one in Houston, Wheeler put together his worst performance of the postseason in a 5-2 loss to the Astros in Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday night.
Wheeler allowed six hits, including that 405-foot blast by Bregman, and five runs in five innings, and only recorded three strikeouts in the loss.
"He was just a little off," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. "He was a little bit light with stuff and the location was a little bit off."
The series is now tied 1-1 with Game 3 in Philadelphia on Monday night.
It wasn't the sole reason for the Astros' success, but Wheeler's velocity was down a tick. He didn't have a pitch eclipse 96 MPH during the entire game.
The Astros were aggressive and jumped on Wheeler in the bottom of the first inning. He threw four pitches and suddenly Houston had a lead.
Jose Altuve, Jeremy Pena and Yordan Alvarez hit three straight doubles to start against Wheeler.
The Phillies didn't help Wheeler defensively, either. Edmundo Sosa, making the start in place of Bryson Stott due to Astros lefty Framber Valdez being on the mound, made an error on a ground ball hit by Yuri Gurriel.
Sosa threw a short ball that Rhys Hoskins was unable to scoop that allowed Alvarez to score. By the time the inning was over, Wheeler already threw 22 pitches.
"I mean, they're just aggressive and I left those first two balls right over the part of the plate and that's what a good team does with it," Wheeler said.
Wheeler took a shot to the knee from a line drive in Game 5 of the NLCS, but he said: "It hasn't been a problem" since it happened.
Wheeler missed four weeks late in the season with a right forearm strain, but he's performed great since his return, especially in the playoffs.
Entering Game 2, Wheeler was on a dominant postseason run. The Phillies were 3-1 in his starts, but the one loss was a 1-0 game against the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS.
Wheeler had an ERA of 1.78 before Saturday. He also allowed three walks against the Astros, which ties the amount he gave up in his previous four postseason games.
After the NLCS, his 0.51 WHIP was the lowest in any four-start span in a single postseason history, according to MLB.com.
Could Wheeler – and Aaron Nola who had a poor performance in Game 1 – just be running out of gas late in the season?
"I think everybody deserves a poor start every once in a while," Thomson said. "Those guys have been so good for us for so long and I fully expect them to come back and get ready to go and pitch well for us."
Noah Syndergaard will start Game 3 and Ranger Suarez will start Game 4 at Citizens Bank Park, Thomson said.
As for Wheeler and the rest of his team after a brutal Game 2 loss, Thomson hopes they come back to Philadelphia and do what they have been doing all postseason.
"As I've said all along with this club, they really have a short memory," Thomson said. "I expect them to come in there and be ready to go in front of a rabid fanbase and they're going to flush it and moved forward, and I expect them to come out, prepare and compete just like they always do."
