After the way Zack Wheeler started on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park, it was surprising to see interim manager Don Mattingly emerge from the Phillies’ dugout with two outs in the sixth inning to make a call to the bullpen. But Mattingly was being mindful of what’s to come. Wheeler set a Phillies record when he struck out the first seven batters of the game in a 6-4 victory over the Brewers (98-59), passing Brandon Duckworth’s mark of six straight strikeouts to start a game on Aug. 5, 2002, against the Dodgers. Wheeler’s first-inning punchout of Brice Turang was the 2,000th strikeout of his career. Wheeler is the 96th pitcher in MLB history to reach 2,000 strikeouts. Wheeler’s teammate Aaron Nola reached the 2,000-strikeout mark earlier this season. They are the second pair of teammates to reach that mark in the same season. Tim Hudson and Jake Peavy first did it with the 2014 Giants. It was a fantastic start against the best team in baseball, a team the Phillies could face in the NL Division Series. The Phillies scored three runs in the eighth inning against the Brewers’ bullpen to win it. But the Brewers manufactured a run in the fourth inning to cut the Phillies’ lead to 3-1. In the sixth, however, a leadoff single, a one-out walk, a double steal and a two-out single from William Contreras scored two runs to tie the game. Jake Bauers followed with another two-out single. It was Wheeler’s 101st pitch of the night. Mattingly said before the game he hoped to keep Wheeler to about 90 pitches, considering it could be his final start of the regular season. Now, Wheeler’s next turn in the rotation is Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Rays, but if the Phillies clinch the NL Wild Card before Sunday, he could start Game 1 of the Wild Card Series on Tuesday.
