Four days after getting left off the NL All-Star roster, Zack Wheeler decided the best response was to make the Cincinnati Reds look silly for 7 innings. Final line: 4 hits, 1 run, zero walks, 14 strikeouts, a Phillies win. That ties his career high, and it made him just the 6th pitcher in franchise history to strike out 14 or more without issuing a walk.
Wheeler came out throwing bullets, racking up 3 strikeouts before the Reds recorded an out in the first.
It didn't let up. By the 4th inning he was up to 8 Ks, sword-in-the-back and everything. By the 5th, 11. By the 6th, 13. This wasn't a guy settling into a rhythm — it was a guy who looked like he had something to prove every single at-bat.
PitchingNinja tracked the strikeout total climbing in real time as Wheeler blew through the Reds' lineup.
And here's the part that makes the whole thing sting: the All-Star Game is being played at Citizens Bank Park this year. In his own building, in front of his own fans, Wheeler doesn't get to suit up. Through 14 starts he'd posted a 2.28 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 87 innings — top-8 among all pitchers in bWAR — despite coming back late from thoracic outlet decompression surgery. A 3-time All-Star (2021, 2024, 2025) got told no, thanks, while 5 of his teammates got the call.
The stat crowd couldn't get over the timing of a masterpiece landing days after Wheeler's snub became official.
Wheeler didn't hide how he felt about it either, reportedly calling the snub "kind of BS" and saying "I feel like I've earned it." Part of the issue is procedural — he was lined up to start Sunday, and by rule that likely rules him out even as a replacement arm, since All-Star pitchers need enough rest to be usable. Wheeler pushed back on that too, pointing out he throws his bullpen 2-3 days after a start and would be fine to pitch an inning if MLB wanted him.
None of that stopped the strikeouts from piling up, and it didn't stop the league from noticing. Jeff Passan's one-line reaction after the 14th K said it all: this is what an All-Star looks like, roster spot or not. Whether MLB does anything about it now is beside the point — Wheeler already made his case as loudly as a guy can make it, on a mound in the ballpark that's about to host a game without him.
PitchingNinja's daily pitch-arsenal roundup made sure the outing didn't just fade into a box score, either — Wheeler's night got top billing alongside other filthy stuff from around the league, keeping the highlight (and the snub storyline attached to it) circulating well past the final out.