Phillies' Zack Wheeler dazzles in fourth outing amid injury recovery

Q: What injury did Zack Wheeler recover from?

Zack Wheeler recovered from surgery to remove a blood clot.

Q: How did Zack Wheeler perform in his fourth outing?

In his fourth outing, Zack Wheeler dominated, returning to his strong form while pitching for the Reading Phillies.

Q: Which teams did Zack Wheeler face in his fourth minor league appearance?

Zack Wheeler faced the Somerset Patriots, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees.

Phillies' Zack Wheeler dazzles in fourth outing amid injury recovery originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

One of the more interesting storylines surrounding the Philadelphia Phillies this season has been the rehabilitation progress of their star ace Zack Wheeler, who has been grinding his way through several starts in the minor leagues, at both the Double and Triple-A levels, after he had surgery to remove a blood clot towards the end of last year.

In his first few outings, Wheeler has had his ups and downs, striking out three batters in his season debut with the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs, while struggling in his second outing, allowing five runs across the plate.

Wheeler dominates with the Reading Phillies

However, it appears that the former Cy Young candidate was back to his old ways in his fourth minor league appearance on Tuesday night, taking to the mound for Philadelphia’s Double-A affiliate, the Reading Phillies, as they took on the New York Yankees’ Double-A affiliate, the Somerset Patriots.

Against Somerset, the 35-year-old took to the mound for 5.2 innings, allowing four hits, three runs, and fanning nine batters in the process, with one of them being the Yankees’ starting shortstop Anthony Volpe, who is with the Patriots for similar reasons as Wheeler.

The 5.2 innings on Tuesday night have been the deepest that Wheeler has gone in any of his rehab starts, with his 72 pitches similarly being the highest amount he’s been allowed to throw all season.

As reported by MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, the 35-year-old is expected to make a fifth appearance on Sunday with the Phillies’ Double-A affiliate, which could be his last one, given the timetable that MLB players are given to play in the minor leagues for rehabbing purposes.

Wheeler’s impact on the mound is something that Philadelphia has been missing this season, as they are posting the second-highest opposing batting average (.269), as well as the sixth-highest team ERA (4.62).