Zack Wheeler was simply untouchable. The Philadelphia right-hander struck out 14 and allowed just 1 run over 7.0 innings, carrying the Phillies to a 4-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. The offense gave him all he needed in the third inning, and Wheeler did the rest.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHI | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| CIN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
Wheeler scattered 4 hits, issued no walks, and threw 104 pitches in earning his ninth win against one loss. With a 2.28 ERA, he has been one of the most dominant starters in the National League this season. Jhoan Duran closed it out with a perfect ninth inning — 3 strikeouts on 20 pitches — for his 22nd save.
The Phillies broke through in the third. Hill scored on a groundout by Trea Turner, putting Philadelphia ahead 1-0. Two batters later, Kyle Schwarber launched a two-run homer to right center, 408 feet, scoring Justin Crawford and pushing the lead to 3-0. Edmundo Sosa added an insurance run in the eighth with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Turner to make it 4-1.
Andrew Abbott gave Cincinnati a quality effort — 6.0 innings, 8 strikeouts, no walks — but the 3 runs he allowed in the third proved to be the margin. He fell to 5-5 with a 3.92 ERA. Eugenio Suarez provided the Reds' lone highlight, a solo home run to left in the seventh, his ninth of the season.
Philadelphia improved to 51-41 on the season. Turner, who went 1-for-5 with an RBI, is two doubles away from 300 for his career. Cincinnati dropped to 41-49.