Zack Wheeler had thrown 90 pitches and the Phillies had (almost) nothing to play for, but Rob Thomson sent him out for the start of the seventh inning anyway. Perhaps he wasn’t worried about pitch count (Wheeler’s next start, NLDS Game 1, isn’t until Saturday); perhaps he just liked the matchup against Juan Yepez with the Phillies still technically in play for the National League’s No. 1 seed.
The way it played out could have hinted at something else. Wheeler struck out Yepez, and his night was done. The 6 1/3-inning outing brought his season total to exactly 200.