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Philadelphia Phillies' Zack Wheeler Does Something No Pitcher Has Ever Done Before

With another dominant performance in Game 1 of the NLCS, Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler moved into the record books.

Brady Farkas

Philadelphia Phillies' Zack Wheeler Does Something No Pitcher Has Ever Done Before
Philadelphia Phillies' Zack Wheeler Does Something No Pitcher Has Ever Done Before /
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Philadelphia Phillies' ace Zack Wheeler delivered a gem on Monday night in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

The righty tossed 6.0 innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs. He walked none and struck out eight as the Phillies won 5-3.

With another great playoff performance, Wheeler moved to the No. 1 spot in baseball history.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

Zack Wheeler has an 0.70 WHIP in 9 career postseason starts 

that’s the lowest in ANY 9-start span in postseason history and it’s his 1st 9! 

next on list: 2012-16 Madison Bumgarner, 0.73 

h/t @EliasSports

He's certainly proven himself to be a big-game performer during his career with the Phillies and Mets. Lifetime, he's 3-3 with a 2.63 ERA in October. He's struck out 59 batters in 54.2 playoff innings. This year, he's 2-0 with a 2.37.

Wheeler had a great regular season as well, going 13-6 with a 3.61 ERA. He struck out 212 batters in 192.0 innings.

He's in his ninth major league season with the Mets and Phillies. He debuted in 2013 but didn't pitch in the majors in either 2015 or 2016. He joined the Phillies before the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

The Phillies and Diamondbacks will play Game 2 of their series on Tuesday night. First pitch is slated for 8:07 p.m. ET as Aaron Nola (PHI) pitches against Merrill Kelly (ARI).

Nola is 2-0 these playoffs with a 1.42 ERA while Kelly is 1-0 with a 0.00. Kelly pitched for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic this spring also.

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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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