The Philadelphia Phillies are moving Zack Wheeler’s next start back a couple of days.
Ahead of their series finale against the Baltimore Orioles at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Phillies manager Rob Thomson told the media that due to shoulder stiffness, Wheeler’s next start will now be Sunday vs. the Texas Rangers.
He was originally scheduled to pitch Game 1 of the three-game weekend series at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Friday.
Wheeler has been one of the top pitchers in Major League Baseball this season and was considered an option to start the All-Star Game in Atlanta before he opted out of the game to focus on the second half of the season and his recovery from the first half.
The Phillies, who enter the day 2.5 games up on the New York Mets in the National League East standings, are looking to close out their three-game series vs. the Orioles with a sweep on Wednesday.
Here’s more on the news of Wheeler being pushed back in the rotation:
Zack Wheeler injury update
On Wednesday, the Phillies announced that they are pushing back their All-Star right-hander two days in the rotation due to some unusual soreness in his shoulder.
Meeting with reporters pregame inside his office at Citizens Bank Park, Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Wheeler came out of his late start vs. the Detroit Tigers with more soreness than he usually does after a start. The Phillies then conducted imaging on Wheeler’s shoulder, and the results came back ‘clean,’ according to Thomson.
‘Wheeler came out of his last start … more sore than he normally is. So we got an image done and it is clean,’ Thomson said. ‘So we are just going to give him a couple of extra days.’
Asked whether he has any concern about his ace, who is in contention once again for the National League Cy Young award, Thomson said no.
Despite striking out 10 hitters in his last start vs. the Tigers, Wheeler was out-dueled by reigning American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, as he gave up four runs (three earned) on nine hits. All the runs Wheeler gave up vs. the Tigers came off the long ball.
‘My fastball command was off,’ Wheeler said after the game when asked about the outing and his recent struggles on the mound. ‘I was pulling a lot of stuff and it’s probably the worst my sinker has ever been. … It’s the consistency. The command isn’t the same. That’s about it.’
Since his complete game vs. the Cincinnati Reds on June 6, Wheeler has not gone past the sixth inning and has given up a total of 13 runs across four additional starts.
Wheeler was seen on the field at Citizens Bank Park ahead of the Phillies’ three-game series finale against the Baltimore Orioles playing catch on the field — perhaps a positive sign for the Phillies.
Zack Wheeler stats
Wheeler leads all National League pitchers with 182 strikeouts on the season, and is one strikeout off from leading all Major League Baseball pitchers at 183, which is held by Boston Red Sox southpaw Garrett Crochet.
Here’s a look at Wheeler’s stats this season with the Phillies:
2025: 9-5 record with a 2.64 ERA in 22 starts across 139 2/3 innings pitched with 182 strikeouts