Zack Wheeler delivers as the Phillies hold off Red Sox's late push to seal 2-1 win

Scott Lauber, The Philadelphia Inquirer on May 12, 2026

Published in Baseball

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BOSTON — On the first swing of his first at-bat Tuesday night in this ancient ballpark, Kyle Schwarber tied a record for a franchise that has existed for 144 seasons.

Yet somehow he was upstaged.

Because as Schwarber elbowed his way into the Phillies’ history book by homering in his fifth game in a row, Zack Wheeler almost went back to a time when pitchers took the ball and didn’t give it up.

Wheeler was stunningly economical through six innings and appeared headed for a complete game until the Boston Red Sox made him work harder in the seventh. So, Wheeler didn’t finish what he started. He still dominated in a series-opening 2-1 victory in Fenway Park.

In a matchup of teams that fired their manager before the beginning of May, the Phillies improved to 11-3 under Don Mattingly. The Red Sox dipped to 7-7 under Chad Tracy.

But if Mattingly deserves credit for the Phillies’ crisper, sharper play since the change in the dugout, starting pitching is most responsible for the revival. And, as ever, Wheeler is at the head of the rotation.

Making his fourth start since returning from surgery eight months ago to relieve a compressed vein, Wheeler faced the minimum nine batters through three innings.

Preposterously, it took him a total of 16 pitches.

Repeat: 16 pitches.

Wheeler leaned on two varieties of fastballs — a four-seamer that sat at 94 mph and peaked at 96, and a sinker — once through the order. He introduced his sweeper in the middle innings and continued to dominate.

The Red Sox didn’t get a hit until Marcelo Mayer’s leadoff single in the third inning. They didn’t get a runner into scoring position until Trevor Story’s two-out single in the seventh moved Mickey Gasper to second.

Wheeler caught a break in the seventh inning when Wilyer Abreu launched a ball to deep right field. But Adolis García hauled it in against the 380-foot sign.

Schwarber cleared the short fence in right field to give the Phillies a lead on the 10th pitch of the game. He became the eighth player in club history to go deep in five consecutive games, and it’s A-list company:

— Dick Allen: 1969

— Mike Schmidt: 1979

— Bobby Abreu: 2005

— Chase Utley: 2008 (twice)

— Rhys Hoskins: 2017

— Odúbel Herrera: 2018

— Trea Turner: 2023

It’s an extraordinary achievement on several levels, not the least of which is it was preceded by an ignominious feat. Earlier this month, Schwarber struck out in eight consecutive plate appearances, the second-longest streak by a Phillies position player.

“I feel like there’s some things that I still need to clean up and cut out,” Schwarber said the other day. “But happier overall with the results. Just got to keep up with the routine, the work in the cage.”

The Phillies added on for Wheeler with a second-inning run. Brandon Marsh continued his torrid start with a leadoff single, then scored two batters later on Bryson Stott’s double to Fenway’s spacious right field.