Zack Wheeler is the best big-game pitcher in MLB, but the Mets' Magic is better in Game 1

PHILADELPHIA – Zack Wheeler gave the Phillies everything they asked for.

After 111 pitches and seven shutout innings, Wheeler barely broke a sweat on the mound. After two hours of pitching, it looked like he had no problem being asked to keep going. In fact, letting Wheeler play until he was actually threatened would have been the Phillies' best chance of winning the National League Division Series opener.

Because the moment Wheeler came out, the Mets pounced on the Phillies and won Game 1 comfortably 6-2 at Citizens Bank Park.

“Wheeler is evil,” Mets designated hitter JD Martinez said. “He’s one of the best pitchers in the league, and it showed. Especially in the early shadows, it's like this guy is throwing planes up there. The ball flies in all directions. It's like being lucky.” .

“You just have to take him out of the game. You have to find a way to get him out because the way he threw the ball today, he was just unbeatable.”

But allowing Wheeler to pitch past the 110-pitch threshold was already a delicate situation. Sure, manager Rob Thomson could have given him the eighth spot so the Phillies would have a chance to steal another out or two from their ace. But the most throws he threw early this season (115) came in a game against the Marlins in June. On Saturday, in his 33rd start this year, after Wheeler had already dominated, leaving the mound with a one-run lead, it might have been asking too much to let him come back for another inning.

In hindsight, maybe they should have asked him anyway.

After Wheeler posted nine strikeouts, walked four and allowed just one hit in seven shutout innings, the Mets immediately battled for their fourth comeback win on the road in six days, starting with Monday's magical victory in Atlanta, to clinch a spot in to secure the playoffs. Saturday's late-game ambush featured one productive hit after another in the eighth inning, as six of the Mets' first eight batters singled or walked against three different Phillies relievers. The two who failed to reach base sacrificed flies as New York scored a total of five runs.

It sealed another improbable postseason victory for the Mets, who overcame a hostile environment in Philly and a bullpen game that began with Kodai Senga giving up a home run to leadoff batter Kyle Schwarber.

That the Phillies managed just two hits while Wheeler was on the mound, producing a postseason gem that solidified his reputation as one of the best pitchers in baseball, was a waste. The Phillies were rested after winning the division and earning a bye week. They had the home advantage in front of a sold-out crowd of 45,751 spectators. Their ace threw fastballs at 99 mph, four ticks above his season average, and earned redemption against his former team that let him walk away in free agency.

Saturday was ready for the Phillies to finish the job. Instead, the Mets have backed them into something of a corner. The Phillies need to win Game 2 in the bench before the series moves on to another contentious environment at Citi Field, where the Mets will gain another advantage and another upper hand that they didn't even need at this point.

“I believe in the momentum,” Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo said. “And I think, you know, we have confidence right now. We have recent examples of us coming back. I believe in the hard work we’ve put in and I believe in the preparation these guys put in every day.”

“But momentum is a big deal. And confidence is a big thing. And the boys are showing a lot of that right now.”

The Mets are certainly confident after picking up a win in a game started by Wheeler, who has established himself as the best big-game pitcher in baseball over the past three years. His performance in Game 1 lowered his career postseason ERA to 2.18 across 12 appearances, which is the type of performance that puts him in the conversation with the best postseason starters in recent memory.

There are only so many starting players that, in a playoff game where the stakes are as high as ever, the manager can have great confidence that Wheeler will not only dig deep into his outing, but also save the arms in the bullpen, but he won't turn either. Wheeler excels at avoiding the terrible meltdown innings – the very situations that allow opposing teams to rally and put up crooked numbers in the postseason.

But Wheeler, normally emotionless, stone-faced and a cool customer, is a workhorse who has mastered the art of making adjustments even as he ages. While speed is becoming more important than things in his age-34 season, Wheeler still dominates throwing a fastball that ranks in the 67th percentile among his peers.

Wheeler finished the 2024 regular season with a 2.57 ERA (second best in the Netherlands behind Chris Sale) in 32 starts and 200 innings. It was the sixth time in his 10-year career that he pitched at least 180 innings. When asked if this season was his best chance at a Cy Young, Wheeler reflected.

“I think I could have said that about 2021 because that was my best season,” he told FOX Sports in September. “I thought, man, this was a really good season. That was cool. Maybe that was my best chance to get the Cy and then I had a better year this year. I don't know it. Maybe I can do it.” It’s hard again, but maybe.

Despite not having a single win yet, Wheeler has been a consistent Cy Young contender since joining the Phillies in 2020. And nights like Saturday are a big reason why the Phillies have been title contenders for three years in a row.

“On a national level, they would love to have it (the Cy Young Award). But from our own perspective, from the city of Philadelphia and the team, that’s how he’s viewed,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski recently told FOX Sports . “He was also in the spotlight and shone.

“So for him, it's a situation where he's really established himself as one of the best pitchers and one of the best big-time pitchers in the game. Those are two different things.”

Wheeler is unlikely to be inducted into the Hall of Fame because he was sidelined by injury during the first half of his career. But he certainly pitches like he belongs in Cooperstown. Leading Philly to a World Series title would be a nice consolation.

The Phillies, now 6-6 in Wheeler's postseason games, simply need to stop wasting his valuable assets.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. Deesha, the daughter of Indian immigrants, grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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