Phillies vs Rays: Wheeler Dominant, Bats Wake Up

Phillies vs Rays: Zack Wheeler vs Nick Martinez - The Phillies won 7-3 to reach the Wild Card round, and the numbers under that game say something different from what it looked like. Wheeler went six innings and allowed one run — but he was not missing bats. His called-strikes-and-whiffs rate was 19.6% against a season mark of 27.7%, and he pounded the zone instead, 47.4% against his usual 42.1%. Four extra-base hits produced exactly one run, because every double was followed immediately by an out. On the other side, Nick Martinez's stuff was fine and the results were not: the sinker came in at normal velocity with normal movement, and he left it dead center. • Wheeler's CSW% was 19.6% vs a 27.7% season — a below-average bat-missing night that still allowed one run • Four extra-base hits allowed, one earned run: the damage never clustered • Martinez's sinker gave up 98.6 mph average exit velocity vs 81.9 mph on the season, at the same 93.0 mph velocity • 12.0% of his pitches were dead center (zone 5) against a 7.5% season rate • The Phillies did not chase less — 32.4% vs a 32.5% season rate — they hit it harder: 40.0% hard-hit vs 24.5% • Up next: Chris Sale in Atlanta, where getting ahead in the count is the whole game Chris Sale allows a .418 OPS when he is ahead in the count and .789 when he is behind. So which version of this offense shows up in the Wild Card round? Subscribe:    / @baseballduke   X/Twitter: https://x.com/BaseballDuke215 Phillies Post-Game Recaps & MLB Analysis:    • Phillies Post-Game Recaps & MLB Analysis   ========================================================== TIMESTAMPS ========================================================== 0:00 Phillies Beat the Rays 7-3 in a Must-Win Finale 0:27 Zack Wheeler Wasn't Missing Bats and It Didn't Matter 1:24 Nick Martinez: The Stuff Was Fine, the Results Weren't 2:19 Nick Martinez Left the Sinker Dead Center 3:03 Phillies Offense Wasn't More Patient, It Hit Harder 4:02 Why Wheeler Allowed One Run and Martinez Allowed Four 5:41 Phillies vs Chris Sale in the Wild Card Round 6:40 Get Ahead of Chris Sale or Get Eaten Alive 7:06 The Phillies Pitching Staff Is a Patchwork #Phillies #rays #MLB #ZackWheeler #ChrisSale #BaseballAnalytics #MLBPlayoffs