Philadelphia Phillies at Miami Marlins

By Bush StaffUpdated 25d ago·2 min read
Philadelphia PhilliesPHI(57-50)
Miami MarlinsMIA(53-54)
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MIA
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Wheeler (10-2, 2.53 ERA) squared off with Tyler Phillips (2-5, 3.52) on Monday night, and on paper it wasn't close. Wheeler came in riding one of the best seasons of his career, while Phillips has been scuffling behind a shaky Miami rotation that's already down starter Max Meyer with a neck issue.

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ML
Total
Phillies(57-50)
LWLLL
7
Marlins(53-54)
WLLLL
8
Best BetPhillies -188
Postgame

Loss — Wheeler and the offense did their job building a 7-5 ninth-inning lead, but the shorthanded bullpen blew it in a walk-off.

Pregame

We backed Wheeler and the Phillies to win outright off the strength of his ace-level season, and for eight innings that read looked right. The collapse came from the pen, not the rotation — Philadelphia's saddled with injuries to Banks, Keller and Trivino that left Wheeler's strong start unsupported late.

The Phillies' lineup did its part early, with Bryce Harper doing damage against Phillips to stake Philadelphia a 2-0 lead before Miami answered right back. Wheeler wasn't at his sharpest — he got tagged for solo shots in the first two innings — but Philadelphia's offense kept chipping and eventually broke the game open with a 4-run sixth to seize control, 6-5.

Philadelphia Phillies
Zack Wheeler
(10-3)·2.69 ERA
Jul 21 vs Dodgers
L
7.0IP
2ER
9K
0BB
93P
07/27 Lineup
Miami Marlins
Tyler Phillips
(3-5)·3.47 ERA
Jul 21 @ Astros
L
4.1IP
2ER
2K
1BB
68P
07/27 Lineup

From there it turned into a bullpen story, and not the kind Philadelphia wanted to tell. The Phillies have been piecing together relief innings for weeks now, and the phone book of injured arms behind Wheeler made a late lead feel shakier than it should have.

Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
(7)
  • 10-Day-ILRafael Marchan (C)The Phillies placed Marchan (knee) on the 10-day injured list Friday, retroactive to July 23.07/24
  • 10-Day-ILGarrett Stubbs (C)The Phillies placed Stubbs on the 10-day injured list Tuesday, retroactive to July 18, due to left wrist inflammation, Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.07/21
  • 15-Day-ILLou Trivino (RP)The Phillies selected Trivino's contract from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday.07/08
  • 60-Day-ILTanner Banks (RP)The Phillies placed Banks on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a left forearm strain.07/25
  • 60-Day-ILBrad Keller (RP)The Phillies moved Keller (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Friday.07/24
  • 60-Day-ILJohan Rojas (CF)Rojas (suspension) underwent surgery Friday to repair the UCL in his right elbow and will face an expected recovery timeline of 6-to-8 months, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.06/25
  • 60-Day-ILAdolis Garcia (RF)The Phillies announced that Garcia underwent successful surgery Wednesday to repair a torn right lat, Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.06/24
Miami Marlins
Miami Marlins
(10)
  • Day-To-DayMichael Petersen (RP)Petersen is still dealing with soreness in his right forearm after being struck by a comebacker during his relief appearance in Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Padres, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.07/27
  • 10-Day-ILOwen Caissie (RF)Caissie (calf) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Jacksonville on Tuesday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.07/27
  • 15-Day-ILMax Meyer (SP)Meyer (neck) will continue treatment and won't throw for the next two weeks, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.07/24
  • 15-Day-ILAnthony Bender (RP)Bender (shin) was cleared to begin a throwing program Friday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.07/18
  • 15-Day-ILWilliam Kempner (RP)The Marlins placed Kempner on the 15-day injured list Sunday due to a right elbow sprain.07/12
  • 60-Day-ILJosh Ekness (RP)Ekness (calf) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Jacksonville on Thursday, Kevin Barral of FishonFirst.com reports.07/22
  • 60-Day-ILRonny Henriquez (RP)Henriquez (elbow) began playing catch from 60 feet out Friday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.07/18
  • 60-Day-ILAndrew Nardi (RP)The Marlins transferred Nardi (ribcage) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday.06/01
  • 60-Day-ILRobby Snelling (SP)Snelling underwent internal brace surgery Friday to repair a torn UCL in his left elbow.05/22
  • 60-Day-ILAdam Mazur (SP)The Marlins placed Mazur (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Wednesday.05/08

Philadelphia is without Tanner Banks, Brad Keller and Lou Trivino, all key relief pieces gutted from the pen over the past month — Keller's elbow issue in particular looks like a season-ender. Depth like that doesn't just disappear without consequence, and it showed up in the worst possible spot Monday: a 3-run ninth from Miami erased a 7-5 Phillies lead and ended the game on a walk-off, Marlins 8, Phillies 7.

Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
(57-50)
Jul 27L@ Marlins7-8
Jul 26Wvs Yankees11-4
Jul 25Lvs Yankees1-3
Jul 24Lvs Yankees0-1
Jul 22Lvs Dodgers5-9
Miami Marlins
Miami Marlins
(53-54)
Jul 27Wvs Phillies8-7
Jul 26Lvs Padres3-5
Jul 25Lvs Padres2-7
Jul 24Lvs Padres2-4
Jul 23L@ Astros2-5

It's a gut-punch loss that snaps whatever momentum Philadelphia built off Saturday's 11-4 blowout of the Yankees, and it drops the Phillies to 1-4 in their last 5. Miami, meanwhile, snapped its own 4-game skid in the ugliest, most satisfying way possible for the home crowd — a reminder that even a sub-.500 club can wreck a good team's night when the opposing bullpen is running on fumes.

Wheeler will shake this one off — he's earned that benefit of the doubt with the year he's having. But for a Phillies team jockeying for playoff positioning, blown late leads against sub-.500 opponents are exactly the kind of game that stings in October retrospect. Miami, for its part, gets a much-needed jolt heading into a stretch where its front office still has to decide whether this roster is worth buying or selling for.

MLBPhiladelphia PhilliesMiami MarlinsPolymarketKalshiZack WheelerTyler Phillips