WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Everything about this place is a novelty for fans. Spectators are closer to big-league action in a city that has never hosted Major League Baseball. Lush trees dot a grass berm beyond right field, where fans claimed precious space Friday night with their lawn chairs. The visiting players must enter the stadium from a door in center field; it’s a throwback to a time when baseball was simpler.
But this is 2025, and baseball is a multi-billion-dollar enterprise. Some teams have invested more into this season than others. Zack Wheeler is making $42 million this year; he’s the highest-paid pitcher in the entire sport. And, when he stepped onto a minor-league field for the second time this month, he knew.
“The mound was terrible, so that was really it,” Wheeler said after a 4-3 Phillies win over the Athletics. “Honestly, I felt great today. And that’s why I was frustrated, because I felt great, and the mound was bad.”
This is how good the Phillies have it right now. They have won eight straight games for the first time since June 1-11, 2022 — Rob Thomson’s first week as interim manager. Wheeler extended his scoreless streak to 22 2/3 innings, his longest since 2018. The Phillies scored three runs off high-powered A’s closer Mason Miller; they needed every single one because Jordan Romano looked rather uncomfortable on the mound while allowing three runs.
They were not at their best. They still won again. They own the best record (33-18) in the majors.
“Sometimes we slug it out,” shortstop Trea Turner said. “Sometimes we win games like this. Really, our pitching has just kept us in so many games. Then the offense is just finding a way to score runs. Sometimes it’s early, sometimes it’s late. Just playing team baseball.”
But maybe it’s not wise to play big-league games in minor-league ballparks.
“Probably not the best idea,” Wheeler said, “but sometimes I guess you have to.”
Wheeler is not the only pitcher who has complained about the mound quality. Luis Severino, the A’s prized offseason addition, has a 0.72 ERA in four road starts and a 6.20 ERA at Sutter Health Park. Severino recently threw a between-starts side session not from the bullpen mound but instead on the main stadium mound in a quest to find his footing.
Other Phillies pitchers agreed with Wheeler’s assessment. Romano, in particular, appeared to be slipping whenever he threw a pitch. His fastball velocity dipped, and he could not throw strikes. The Phillies summoned lefty Tanner Banks in the ninth with the tying run on first base. He struck out Lawrence Butler for the game’s final out.
Tanner Banks and J.T. Realmuto celebrate after the Phillies’ eighth straight win. (Dennis Lee / Imagn Image)
Wheeler, like most pitchers, tries to dig a dent into the dirt in front of the rubber with his spikes at the beginning of the game. The clay didn’t budge. So Wheeler could not nestle his plant foot where he wanted.
That forced him to pitch without the typical lower-body torque he uses.
“It was like cement right in front of the rubber,” Wheeler said. “So I was just trying to break it up, and once you kind of did break it up, there’s little bumps in it. It probably doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you’re used to pitching on similar mounds throughout the league, just that little difference kind of messes with you. I really couldn’t get into the dirt to drive. So I was throwing all arm tonight. It was a little different. I just had to make little adjustments out there as I went.”
Wheeler has a 2.42 ERA this season. He dominated a young A’s lineup while leaning heavier on his fastballs than normal. Wheeler fired 76 fastballs, tied for the fourth-most he’s thrown in any start with the Phillies.
He allowed three hits in 6 2/3 innings. He ran out of gas in the seventh, walking the final two hitters he faced. But Orion Kerkering, for the second straight day, extinguished a dicey situation.
Wheeler still posted zeroes even in a less-than-ideal environment.
“The best pitchers in baseball have a good fastball,” Turner said. “And you can throw it anytime, even when you’re not feeling your best. You can throw it in the zone and get swings-and-misses. Get weak contact. With the four-seam, two-seam combination, it’s just hard to find the middle of the ball a lot. And he knows what he’s doing. Even when he misses bad, at least it’s to the right side. It’s not over the plate. A veteran. He just knows how to pitch and battle even when he isn’t at his best.”
Wheeler said he just followed catcher J.T. Realmuto’s plan. The fastball, Wheeler said, is something he can always trust. Even throwing “all arm,” Wheeler’s four-seamer averaged 96.6 mph — higher than his season average. He continues to pace a rotation that has powered the Phillies.
During the team’s eight-game winning streak, the starters have a 1.82 ERA.
“I’m really pleased with it,” Thomson said. “I want to knock on wood every time I say our rotation’s going good because you’ve got to keep them healthy.”
Wheeler might have trouble staying healthy if he called Sacramento home. The A’s plan to be here for three years; Wheeler would be in the final year of his $126 million contract whenever the Phillies return. He has said he plans to quit pitching after the 2027 season, when he’ll be 37. Maybe he’ll have one more chance to grace the mound at Sutter Health Park.
One hour and 15 minutes after the final out, three grounds crew members were still working on the mound. Everyone is trying to make this unusual situation, one Major League Baseball greenlighted, tenable. Baseball, so they say, is like life. Sometimes it rains. Sometimes the mound feels like cement.
“You just,” Wheeler said, “have to figure it out.”
(Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
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| The Pat McAfee Show
