Fastball

Phillies Ace Becomes 2nd Fastest Pitcher in Franchise History to Reach This Mark

By delivering a gem on Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies' ace Zack Wheeler has put himself in an extremely rare group in team history.

Brady Farkas

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field on July 3.
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field on July 3. / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
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The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night as starting pitcher Zack Wheeler moved himself into some impressive company in the team record books.

Wheeler moved to 10-4 with the win, as he threw 5.0 innings and allowed just one earned run. He walked two and struck out seven. He now has a 2.70 ERA for the year and recorded his 800th career strikeout (with the organization) in the effort.

This stat was put out by @StatsCentre before the game:

On pace for a potential career year in 2024, @Phillies hurler Zack Wheeler enters his start vs the Dodgers having registered 794 strikeouts in 119 career games since joining the Phils. If he gets 6 tonight, he'll become the 2nd fastest to reach the 800 mark on this franchise list

Now, in his 120th start with the Phillies, he is officially the second fastest to the 800 strikeout mark. Only Cliff Lee (115 games) reached the mark faster.

The 34-year-old Wheeler is still at the top of his game for a Phillies team that has designs on winning the World Series this season. They've been to the World Series and NLCS in successive years, only to fall short. Wheeler left the game with tightness in his lower back though, so that is something important to monitor.

It's the 10th season that Wheeler has appeared in the big leagues, though he was out for all of 2014-2016. Lifetime with the New York Mets and Phillies, he's 97-67 with a 3.39 ERA. He has now won double-digit games in seven different seasons.

The Phillies are an NL-best 59-32.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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