PHILADELPHIA - Zack Wheeler spent a few days away from the Phillies this week because his wife was ready to welcome their second child.
He was an antsy parent — and pitcher, too, checking the box scores to see if Philadelphia could stay perfect in his absence."I was just hoping that it would come back around to me and I could keep it going," Wheeler said.Sure enough, Wheeler's daughter was born Tuesday and four days later the staff ace led the Phillies to their longest winning streak in 11 years.He struck out eight over six sharp innings, Bryson Stott hit a two-run homer and the Phillies won their ninth straight game, a 4-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday.The Phillies have won nine straight for the first time July 29-Aug.
6, 2011, also the last season they reached the playoffs.Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson improved to 8-0 since he took over for the fired Joe Girardi.
He’s the first manager to win his first eight games since Joe Morgan did it for the Red Sox in 1988. He’s the first Phillies manager to start his career 8-0 since Pat Moran did the same in 1915.Hey, the Phillies won the pennant in 1915.A mere 107 years later, the Phillies (30-29) are happy for now they could climb over .500 for the first time since they were 3-2 on April 12."We're shooting for five (games over) or more.