Zack Wheeler Strikes Out 11 to Move Up Philadelphia Phillies' All-Time Leaderboards

Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler racked up 11 strikeouts against the Washington Nationals on Saturday, extending an historic streak and joining an exclusive list of legends in the process.

Sep 28, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) pitches against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies may not have been playing for much this weekend, but that didn't stop Zack Wheeler from dealing another gem.

Wheeler tossed 6.1 innings against the Washington Nationals on Saturday, allowing just three hits, two walks and two earned runs before he got the hook. That wasn't enough to lift the Phillies to victory, though, as reliever Jeff Hoffman collapsed in the eighth, allowing four runs to a Nationals team that wound up winning 6-3.

In addition to recording his franchise record-breaking 11th consecutive start of 6.0-plus innings and two-or-fewer earned runs allowed, Wheeler also racked up 11 strikeouts.

Wheeler has now recorded 17 double-digit strikeout performances since joining the Phillies in 2020. According to TSN's StatsCentre, that vaults him past Chris Short for seventh-most in franchise history, dating back to 1883.

Steve Carlton owns the record with 70 such outings, followed by Curt Schilling with 48, Aaron Nola with 31 and Cole Hamels with 29. Next up on the list ahead of Wheeler is Cliff Lee, who had 22.

Most career double digit strikeout performances by a pitcher in @Phillies franchise history (1883-):
70- Steve Carlton
48- Curt Schilling
31- Aaron Nola
29- Cole Hamels
25- Jim Bunning
22- Cliff Lee
17- Zack Wheeler (Via 11 in 6.1 IP on Saturday vs the Nationals)
16- Chris Short pic.twitter.com/6Lr2VBLwlr

— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) September 29, 2024

Wheeler is now 59-32 with a 2.94 ERA, 1.031 WHIP and 25.5 WAR as a member of the Phillies, averaging 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings. This season alone, the 34-year-old righty is 16-7 with a 2.57 ERA, 0.955 WHIP, 224 strikeouts and a 6.1 WAR.

That production has Wheeler contending for the NL Cy Young Award yet again, although he is expected to finish behind Chris Sale when the votes are tallied. Wheeler already finished runner-up for NL Cy Young back in 2021, in addition to finishing sixth in 2023 and 12th in 2020.

With every passing start, the Phillies' decision to extend Wheeler in March looks smarter and smarter. The five-year, $188 million contract that lured him away from the New York Mets was set to expire at the end of 2024, but Philadelphia's front office tacked on three years and $126 million deal before the season began.

Wheeler has lived up to that price tag by putting together one of his most dominant seasons yet, all while missing far more bats than he ever did in his 20s.

The veteran will now gear up for another playoff run with the Phillies, having reached the World Series in 2022 and the NLCS in 2023. Across those two postseasons, Wheeler went 4-3 with a 2.42 ERA, 0.726 WHIP and 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings.

Philadelphia has one more game against Washington on Sunday before the regular season comes to a close, then the team will have to wait and see which opponent emerges from the NL Wild Card Series.

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