Thursday, October 1, 2026
73 ° Clear
73 ° Clear
The Phillies continued their red-hot ways in August, defeating the Angels 5-2 Sunday afternoon. The victory locked in the team’s fourth series sweep of the month as they find themselves right in the middle of the National League Wild Card race days away from September.
The second half has not been friendly to Zack Wheeler. The veteran ace had allowed 25 earned runs in just 31 1/3 innings since returning from the All-Star Break. As the day began in Anaheim, it seemed as though Wheeler would add to that tally early and often.
Wheeler walked Wade Meckler to begin the bottom of the first before hitting Mike Trout with an errant sinker. Vaughn Grissom then slipped a single into left field, loading the bases with no outs for the Angels.
Moisés Ballesteros then bit on a low-and-outside splitter in a 2-2 count, and dribbled a weak grounder back to Wheeler. Meckler scored on the play, but it was in exchange for a 1-6-3 double play, putting Wheeler in position to get out of the inning without additional strife.
Wheeler’s catcher picked him up two innings later. Leading off the top of the third, J.T. Realmuto smacked his 10th home run of the season, a 403-foot shot into left-center field off Yusei Kikuchi, tying the game up at 1-1.
The Angels sought to respond in their half of the third with the top of the order due up. Meckler reached on a lead-off double into center field. After a brief lineout from Trout to Turner, Grissom hit what could have been the go-ahead RBI into center.
Before it had a chance to become a base hit, however, Derek Hill came diving in to make the catch, preventing Meckler from advancing and stymying the Angels’ momentum on the inning. Wheeler worked Ballesteros to a full-count 3-U groundout to end the inning.
Edmundo Sosa has shown his clutch gene over the past few days. In the top of the seventh, he let it shine once more. Connecting on an 0-1 splitter from Kikuchi, Sosa took the lead for the Phillies on their second lead-off home run of the day.
The home run gave Wheeler a 2-1 advantage just as he was about to hit the showers. Having pitched six innings, Wheeler allowed only one run on four hits and three walks. Wheeler struck out six batters on the day.
The outing was Wheeler’s first quality start since July 21, when he allowed two runs over seven innings against the other team from Los Angeles. While Wheeler is still not back to his elite pitching potential, he made a huge step in the right direction on Sunday to keep the Phillies in line for the series sweep in Anaheim.
Following a quiet bottom of the seventh from rookie Alex McFarlane, the Phillies looked to add a few insurance runs as the Angels went to the bullpen.
Kyle Schwarber led off the top of the eighth with a leadoff walk, advancing to second on a single from Trea Turner. Following a fly-out from Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm loaded the bases on a walk. Luis Arraez entered to pinch hit for Sosa, hitting a sacrifice fly into left field to score Schwarber.
With a 3-1 advantage, the Phillies were not done quite yet as Brandon Marsh, pinch hitting for Bryan De La Cruz, slung a single into right field, scoring Turner.
A lead-off walk began another rally for the Phillies in the top of the ninth. Realmuto worked his way on base for the third time on the day, walking to start the inning. He then advanced to second on a bunt single from Hill.
Two outs later, Harper slapped a double into centerfield, scoring Realmuto. The RBI-double gave the Phillies a 5–1 lead going into the bottom of the ninth as they looked to sweep the Angels on the road.
Orion Kerkering entered the game in the bottom of the eighth, recording the final out of the inning to get José Alvarado out a tight spot with two baserunners. Having entered with a three-run lead, when Kerkering stepped back out to pitch the bottom of the ninth, it was a save situation for the 25-year-old reliever.
Oswald Peraza led off the ninth with a single into left field. Kerkering then worked Denzer Guzman into a pop-fly to Arraez for the first out on the inning. Meckler then stepped up to the plate and hit what appeared to be a game-ending 4-6-3 double play to Arraez. After a crew chief review, it was determined that Meckler beat the throw to first, extending the ballgame as the Angels were given new life.
Philadelphia Eagles fan Mike Trout stepped up to the plate, determined to keep the new life going for the Angels. Trout drove a double to the warning track in right field, scoring Meckler and keeping the game alive for the Angels.
Grissom then stepped up and, after working to a full count against Kerkering, struck out on a foul tip to end the ballgame. Kerkeing recorded his second save of the season while securing the Phillies’ fourth sweep of the month. The last time the Phillies swept four series in a single month was also in August in 1991.
Wheeler locked in his 11th win of the season as the Phillies improved to 77-60 on the year. With the Braves' win against the Rockies in extra innings, they have maintained a 5.0 game lead on the Phillies for the National League East crown.
In the meantime, the NL Wild Card race is about to get a bit interesting. The Phillies are 0.5 games back from the Cubs for the top Wild Card slot while owning a 4.5 game lead over the Diamondbacks for the third slot.
The Phillies now travel to Arizona for a three-game series against the Diamondbacks, a potentially pivotal matchup that could increase that margin for the Phillies.
The matchup against the Diamondbacks is the final West Coast series of the regular season for the Phillies. Let the East Coast working class rejoice. Game one of the series in Phoenix will kick off at 9:40 P.M. Monday evening. Aaron Nola will look to keep up the good vibes as the Phillies have won five straight.
