Phillies’ Zack Wheeler gets shelled by Mariners in 1 of his worst starts ever

Zack Wheeler has been one of the most consistent starting pitchers in MLB throughout his whole career, and even now that he’s 36 years of age, he continues to be good ol’ reliable for the Philadelphia Phillies. However, even pitchers of his caliber have off nights — even when facing the most inept offense in MLB in the Seattle Mariners.

The Mariners entered their Monday night clash against the Phillies tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for the fewest runs scored in MLB in 2026, with 521 in 132 games. Wheeler entered the night with a 2.92 ERA, and on paper, this was looking like a game in favor of the Phillies. Alas, the 36-year-old proceeded to allow eight earned runs on nine hits in just four innings of work, and they currently find themselves down 9-2 through seven innings.

Zack Wheeler is getting hit around tonight. He has given up 8 runs, 9 hits, and has 5 walks. His ERA is now 3.40
His night is done after 4 innings  pic.twitter.com/6tjHlLlE2o

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) August 25, 2026

Wheeler’s ERA ballooned to 3.40 ERA with this horrible start, and this was just a terrible outing for the Phillies veteran all around. He even allowed more walks (five) than he had strikeouts (four), and that is not a stat any starting pitcher would want to have on any given night.

Eight earned runs is tied for the most Wheeler has allowed in a single game in his big-league career. He allowed eight earned runs three different times previously in his career, most recently in 2024, when he allowed the Baltimore Orioles to score eight through 4.1 innings of work.

This outing blows away Wheeler’s previous worst start of 2026. The most earned runs he’s allowed in a single game this year is five, which he did on July 27 in an 8-7 loss to the Miami Marlins. But of Wheeler’s 22 starts this year, he’s only allowed over three earned runs seven times, so this is nothing more than an outlier for the Phillies veteran.

Even if the Phillies don’t mount a comeback on Monday against the Mariners, they should still end the night in an NL Wild Card spot.

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