Wheeler is the headliner here and the reason the Phillies are -132 on the road. He's 1-0 with a 3.12 ERA across his first three starts back, and Philadelphia has won every one of them. His last time out he punched out 8 in 6 innings against Miami, building from 84 pitches in his debut up to 94. He looks like the same guy he was before the IL stint, which is the only news Phillies fans needed.
Boston countering with Morán as an opener is the part to circle. He's been sharp in short bursts — 2.91 ERA, 17 K in 19.1 innings — but the Sox are basically running a bullpen game against the toughest non-Skenes start in the National League. Whoever follows Morán in the bulk role is the actual matchup problem, and Boston's rotation has been gutted: Crochet, Houck, Crawford, Sandoval and Oviedo are all on the shelf.
- Day-To-DayKeaton Anthony (1B) — Anthony suffered a fractured toe after fouling a ball off his foot during Monday's Grapefruit League game versus the Red Sox, Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.05/08
- Day-To-DayRene Pinto (C) — Pinto (undisclosed) began a rehab assignment Monday, Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times reports.05/08
- Day-To-DayDaniel Robert (RP) — Robert suffered a cardiac incident Sunday while preparing to throw a bullpen session and was taken to a local hospital, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.05/08
- Day-To-DayAndrew Bechtold (3B) — Bechtold signed a minor-league contract with the Blue Jays on Dec. 1.05/08
- Day-To-DayMark Kolozsvary (C) — Kolozsvary (undisclosed) agreed to a minor-league contract with the Phillies on Friday that includes an invitation to spring training, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.05/08
- 15-Day-ILZach Pop (RP) — Pop (calf) began a rehab assignment Saturday, throwing a clean inning for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.05/11
- 15-Day-ILKyle Backhus (RP) — The Phillies placed Backhus on the 15-day injured list Thursday with left elbow inflammation.05/08
- suspensionJohan Rojas (CF) — Rojas (shoulder) is starting in center field and batting leadoff in Thursday's Grapefruit League contest against Atlanta, Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.05/08
- 60-Day-ILMax Lazar (RP) — Lazar (oblique) will begin a rehab assignment with Single-A Jersey Shore on Thursday.05/08
- Day-To-DayWillson Contreras (1B) — Contreras (hand) is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Phillies, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.05/12
- Day-To-DayHobie Harris (RP) — Harris was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.05/08
- 10-Day-ILRoman Anthony (LF) — Anthony (wrist) has yet to resume baseball activities, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.05/12
- 15-Day-ILGarrett Crochet (SP) — Crochet (shoulder) threw off a mound Tuesday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.05/12
- 15-Day-ILDanny Coulombe (RP) — The Red Sox placed Coulombe on the 15-day injured list Monday with cervical spasms.05/08
- 15-Day-ILKutter Crawford (SP) — Crawford has been diagnosed with inflammation in his right elbow following an MRI, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.05/08
- OutBrendan Rodgers (2B) — Rodgers (shoulder) re-signed Friday with the Red Sox on a two-year, minor-league contract, Chris Hatfield of SoxProspects.com reports.05/08
- 60-Day-ILTriston Casas (1B) — The Red Sox transferred Casas (abdomen/knee) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.05/08
- 60-Day-ILRomy Gonzalez (1B) — The Red Sox placed Gonzalez (shoulder) on the 60-day injured list Thursday, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.05/08
- 60-Day-ILTanner Houck (SP) — Houck (elbow) began a throwing program Monday with 25 throws from 45 feet, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.05/08
- 60-Day-ILPatrick Sandoval (SP) — The Red Sox transferred Sandoval (biceps/elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday.05/08
- 60-Day-ILJohan Oviedo (SP) — Oviedo (elbow) will be reevaluated by Dr. Keith Meister in two weeks to determine his progress, Marcos Grunfeld of ElEmergente.com reports.05/08
The injury column also dings the lineup tonight. Willson Contreras is out with a hand issue, and Roman Anthony (wrist) still hasn't resumed baseball activities. That's a real chunk of the heart of the order missing against the best pitcher they'll see this week. On the Phillies side it's mostly bullpen names — Backhus and Pop on the IL — plus Keaton Anthony day-to-day with a fractured toe.
The market is leaning Phillies and so is the public — 76% handle, 79% of tickets on the Philly moneyline at -143. The total sits at 8 with the over getting most of the action. EV isn't pretty on any side here (Pinnacle is shading everything), but the side with the Cy Young-caliber starter against a patchwork bullpen day, in a half-healthy Boston lineup, is the obvious lean for a reason.
If Wheeler does Wheeler things into the 7th, this is a quick night for Boston. If the Phillies bullpen wobbles the way it has at times this year and the Sox manage to chase the bulk guy early, you've got a Fenway shootout where 8 runs disappears in a hurry. Either way, it's a measuring-stick start for a Phillies team that suddenly looks like it remembered who it was.