Thursday, October 1, 2026
79 ° Clear
79 ° Clear
It rained all day across the Delaware Valley. As the rain subsided, a cool autumnal breeze blew through Citizens Bank Park. With the temperature at first pitch sitting at 63 degrees for the first official day of fall, it felt as though Red October was finally here.
Nine innings and some late-game heroics later, it felt as if the Phillies just might be ready for Red October to start as well. Brandon Marsh was the hero on the night, going 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI.
Coming into the ballgame, Zack Wheeler stood on the precipice of a historic milestone. With 1,997 strikeouts in his career, the right-hander needed only three to become the 96th pitcher in MLB history to reach 2,000.
Three strikeouts? Wheeler only needed three batters.
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Wheeler used a dozen pitches to strike out the side in the top of the first, getting the capstone strikeout out of the way quickly.
Wheeler was not done there, however, as he then proceeded to strike out the side in the top of the second as well. His sixth-consecutive strikeout to end the top of the second, a strikeout against former MVP Christian Yelich, tied Wheeler with Brandon Duckworth for the most consecutive strikeouts to start a game in Phillies franchise history.
Come the top of the third inning, Wheeler took the record for himself, striking out Luis Lara for strikeout number seven, the final of his streak.
With one out in the bottom of the second, Bryson Stott worked a walk against Brewers starter Dustin May. Though Stott would end up stealing second base during Brandon Marsh’s at-bat, it would not matter.
On a 1-2 pitch, Marsh connected on a sinker low-and-in, a spot that May frequented in the at-bat, driving it into the stands in right field for a two-run home run. The home run was Marsh’s 18th of the season and only his second since July 20, giving the Phillies a 2-0 lead.
Trea Turner kept the pressure up in the bottom of the third, reaching on a one-out single into center field. Luis Arraez then moved Turner to third on a two-out single into right field.
Ninety feet away from scoring, Turner took a slow trot in as Alec Bohm drove a double down the left field line, giving Wheeler a safe 3-0 lead.
Mitchell led off the top of the fourth, hitting a slow liner just barely out of the reach of an extended Bryson Stott and into left field. Mitchell then advanced to third on a one-out single from Turang. William Contreras then hit a sacrifice fly into left field, putting one run on the board for the Brewers.
Despite allowing the run, Wheeler added two more strikeouts in the inning.
Wheeler then struck out Yelich for the second time on the day to start the top of the fifth. The strikeout was Wheeler’s 10th of the day, making it his fourth game with double-digit strikeouts this season.
The top of the sixth rolled around, and David Hamilton led off the inning with a single for the Brewers. One out later, Chourio reached base on a walk to put two runners on. As Wheeler struck out Turang for the second out of the inning, the two runners implemented a double steal, putting both runners in scoring position for Contreras with two outs.
Contreras already had the Brewers’ one RBI on the day, and he took advantage of the situation to tie the game up on a single into left field. A follow-up single from Jake Bauers then prompted Don Mattingly to go to the bullpen, bringing in Tim Mayza to finish the inning.
Wheeler exited to a standing ovation from the Philadelphia faithful, having accrued his 2,008th strikeout on the day. With five games remaining, this may have been Wheeler’s final start before the postseason begins.
“He had that little stretch after the break where he struggled." Don Mattingly said post-game, reflecting on Wheeler’s second half, “kind of got off just track a little bit. But since then, pretty much every time out he's been really solid.”
Fast forward to the bottom of the eighth inning, and the score remained tied at 3-3. With two outs, Luis Arraez slung a single into right field, putting a runner on for the Phillies. Bohm then made it two straight singles, stringing one into left field.
On a 2-2 count, Stott made it three. Stott drove a single into center field, scoring Arraez. Mitchell, the Brewers’ center fielder, then attempted to throw out Bohm as he went for third. Mitchell apparently forgot that you cannot peg a player for an out, as his errant throw bounced off of Bohm’s foot mid-stride. The error allowed Bohm to score on the play, advancing Stott to second base.
Marsh then scored Stott on a double off the right field wall, giving the Phillies a 6-3 lead for Jhoan Duran to work with in the top of the ninth.
William Contreras was the source of all of the Brewers’ run production on the day. On a 3-2 pitch, Contreras was called out on a 101.4 mph fastball for out number one. He then got Bauers on a 1-2 fastball clocking at 100.4 mph for the second out of the inning.
Duran walked Yelich on a full count, putting a runner on for the Brewers. After advancing to second on defensive indifference, Yelich scored on a single into center field from Lara, cutting into the Phillies’ three-run lead.
That run would be all she wrote for the Brewers, however, as Pratt grounded out to second to end the game. The save was Duran’s 33rd of the season.
With the win, the Phillies now sit 0.5 games back of the Cubs and Padres in the NL Wild Card. Their magic number to secure a playoff spot over the Diamondbacks has now dropped to two. With the Diamondbacks currently facing the Rockies, there is still a chance the number drops to one before the night concludes.
Aaron Nola will take the mound Wednesday against Logan Henderson as the Phillies look to inch closer to a secure playoff spot. First pitch for the matchup is scheduled for 6:40 p.m.
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