Philadelphia Phillies at Baltimore Orioles

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
PHI	0	0	2	2	1	3	—	—	—	8	9	0
BAL	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	0	4	0

Wheeler took the ball at Camden Yards looking to answer questions, not create more of them. His last time out against Miami he lasted just 3 innings and surrendered 5 earned runs, his shortest and shakiest outing in years. Kyle Bradish, meanwhile, was coming off his own rough afternoon in Detroit, 4.2 innings and 5 earned runs allowed. Neither arm entered this one with much momentum.

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Total

Phillies(58-53)

WLLLL

8

-1.5+127-133o7.5-120

Orioles(54-57)

LWWLW

0

+1.5-130+130u7.5+120

Best BetPhillies -141

Postgame

This one played out about as cleanly as the pre-game case hoped. Wheeler's rough Miami start was the outlier, not a new normal, and he and the Phillies offense buried Bradish and the Orioles early with a De La Cruz homer that never let Baltimore back in. The 8-0 final validated the price on Philadelphia outright.

Pregame

Wheeler's 2.53 ERA and 10-2 record are miles better than anything Bradish has put up this season, and that gap is why Philadelphia is the play here even on the road. The last start is a real flag, but a short rocky outing from an ace still beats a shaky No. 4 starter who's allowed double-digit hits in his last time out. Baltimore's offense without Rutschman and Basallo just isn't deep enough to bank on beating good pitching consistently.

Bradish didn't find his footing early either. Justin Crawford opened the third with a double, and Bryan De La Cruz turned it into a two-run homer that put Philadelphia ahead for good. A rain delay hit the game not long after, but it didn't cool off the Phillies bats when play resumed, they kept adding on in the 4th, 5th and 6th while Baltimore's lineup never got anything going.

Zack Wheeler

(10-4)·2.89 ERA

Jul 27 @ Marlins

ND

3.0IP

5ER

6K

1BB

68P

08/02 Lineup

Kyle Bradish

(7-11)·3.65 ERA

Jul 27 @ Tigers

ND

4.2IP

5ER

4K

1BB

93P

08/02 Lineup

That's now back-to-back shutout losses for the Orioles against this exact opponent, a stretch that says more about where this Baltimore roster is right now than any single pitching line. The lineup Mike Elias has been forced to run out has been picked apart by injuries for weeks, and it showed.

Wheeler needed exactly this kind of outing. Whatever mechanical issue sapped his velocity against Miami wasn't on display in Baltimore, and for a Phillies rotation trying to steady itself down the stretch, a clean Wheeler start against a struggling lineup was close to the best-case script.

Philadelphia Phillies

(58-53)

Aug 1W@ Orioles5-0

Jul 31L@ Orioles4-6

Jul 29L@ Marlins6-8

Jul 28L@ Marlins0-1

Jul 27L@ Marlins7-8

Baltimore Orioles

(54-57)

Aug 1Lvs Phillies0-5

Jul 31Wvs Phillies6-4

Jul 29W@ Tigers10-9

Jul 28L@ Tigers0-14

Jul 27W@ Tigers8-5

On the other side, it's hard to overstate how thin Baltimore is right now. Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo are both working back from injury, Ryan Mountcastle's season is trending toward over, and the bullpen is missing multiple high-leverage arms. Bradish is essentially being asked to hold a rotation spot with no safety net behind him if things go sideways early, and Sunday they did.

Philadelphia Phillies

(6)

• 10-Day-ILRafael Marchan (C) — The Phillies placed Marchan (knee) on the 10-day injured list Friday, retroactive to July 23.07/24
• 15-Day-ILLou Trivino (RP) — The Phillies sent Trivino (back) to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday to begin a rehab assignment.07/29
• 60-Day-ILBrad Keller (RP) — Keller underwent right elbow UCL reconstruction surgery with internal brace and flexor tendon repair Tuesday, Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.07/29
• 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-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

Baltimore Orioles

(10)

• 10-Day-ILAdley Rutschman (C) — Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said Friday that Rutschman (wrist) will resume hitting Saturday and could begin a rehab assignment next week, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.07/31
• 10-Day-ILSamuel Basallo (C) — Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said Friday that Basallo (shoulder) will resume hitting within the next couple days, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.07/31
• 10-Day-ILBlaze Alexander (3B) — Alexander (hand) does not have a timeline to return from the 10-day injured list, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.07/17
• 60-Day-ILChris Bassitt (SP) — Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said Friday that Bassitt (back) will make 1-to-2 more rehab starts before rejoining the active roster, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.07/31
• 60-Day-ILRyan Helsley (RP) — Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said Friday that Helsley (elbow) has resumed a throwing program, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.07/31
• 60-Day-ILColin Selby (RP) — Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said Friday that Selby underwent right shoulder surgery Tuesday to repair his labrum and rotator cuff, Andy Kostka of TheBanner.com reports.07/31
• 60-Day-ILFelix Bautista (RP) — Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said Friday that Bautista (shoulder) will throw a live batting practice session next week, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.07/31
• 60-Day-ILRyan Mountcastle (1B) — The Orioles announced that Mountcastle (foot) suffered a "significant" oblique strain while warming up for his first rehab game and will now be out a couple more months, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.07/31
• 60-Day-ILKeegan Akin (RP) — Akin (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery Wednesday, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.07/15
• 60-Day-ILJordan Westburg (3B) — Westburg (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery Wednesday, Andrew Golden of TheBanner.com reports.05/15

Philadelphia takes the series and heads out of Camden Yards having answered its biggest lingering question about Wheeler, at least for now. Baltimore leaves with more of the same: a shorthanded roster searching for answers at the plate.