3 Philadelphia Phillies most to blame for World Series Game 2 loss in Houston

1. Zack Wheeler

One of the biggest reasons why Aaron Nola drew the Game 1 start instead of Zack Wheeler was that the Phillies wanted to give Wheeler an extra day of rest. However, the extra day didn’t seem to benefit Wheeler much early on as three of the first four pitches he threw were hit for doubles. By the time Yordan Alvarez completed the trifecta of doubles, Houston was already up 2-0 before an out had been recorded.

Wheeler would give up three runs in the first inning and a pair in the fifth inning before his evening was done. During his 69-pitch performance, the right-hander surrendered four earned runs (five total) on six hits while walking three and striking out three.

Though it seemed he had figured out a way to mute the Houston offense after that tough first inning, Alex Bregman’s two-run, two-out homer in the fifth would prove to be the end of the evening for Wheeler.