Phillies announce starting pitchers for World Series Game 1 & 2, but who are Aaron Nola & Zack Wheeler?
Both pitchers have what it takes, but there will be some concern about the tendinitis that Wheeler suffers in his forearm.
As we edge closer to the start of the 2022 MLB World Series, the Phillies just gave us a taste of how they intend to line up and it appears they’ve made a small, but interesting tweak.
Phillies name starting pitchers for World Series Game 1 & 2
On Wednesday morning, the Philadelphia Phillies announced their rotation plans for the first two games of the 2022 World Series. With only two days remaining before they meet the Houston Astros in the ‘Fall Classic,’ the Phillies named Aaron Nola as the starter for Game 1, while Zack Wheeler will get the nod for Game 2. It should be said, that Phillies manager Rob Thomson did in fact suggest earlier this week that Nola and Wheeler would pitch in those games and in that order, in an effort to allow Wheeler another rest day.
“I think the common-sense way to go about it is to have Nola go Game 1 and give Wheeler the extra day rest and have him go Game 2,” Thomson said on Tuesday. “But I’ll talk to those guys a little bit tomorrow and we’ll come up with it.”
How does Aaron Nola measure up?
Having pitched in the second or third game of the last three series of this post season, Nola threw a combined 12 2/3 scoreless innings. That’s to say the 29-year-old knows what he’s doing. On the other hand, the Phillies will be hoping that his last start on October 9th is now a distant memory. On that day he gave up six runs across 4 2/3 innings versus the San Diego Padres in the NLCS. Come game time on Friday, Nola will match up the Houston Astros’ starter, Justin Verlander.
What’s Zack Wheeler bringing to the table?
In the four starts that he’s had this postseason, the 32-year-old Wheeler has posted a 1.78 ERA and a 25-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 25 1/3 innings. Those starts included Game 1 of the Phillies’ Wild Card and Game 2 of both the Division Series National League Championship Series. Wheeler has been impressive, that’s certain, but the problem is the forearm tendinitis that forced his absence toward the end of the season. The Phillies actually limited Wheeler to 80 pitches across his final three starts of the regular season. Further to that, the team has only allowed him an average of 86 pitches during the playoffs. This is all to say, that the Phillies intention to give Wheeler additional rest makes sense.