Clench, not clutch: Cubs 2, Phillies 1

If you're looking for positives from Tuesday night's game between the Phillies and Cubs, you can point to how Zack Wheeler appears to be healthy and as good as ever. But Wheeler's status might not matter if the Phillies' offense doesn't perform better than it did on Tuesday. The Phillies' hitters struggled mightily against Marcus Stroman and the Chicago bullpen and wasted Wheeler's strong start in a 2-1 loss.Wheeler was making his second start since returning from an injury and looked like his usual dominating self. He gave up one run in six innings, and if not for a pitch limit, could have probably pitched much deeper into the game.Zack Wheeler, Dirty 84mph Curveball. Rob Friedman September 28 https://www.philliesfansteamshop.com/John_Kruk_Apparel-16, 2022Unfortunately, the Phillies' offense was unable to match Wheeler's performance. They faced Marcus Stroman, who gave the Phillies a lot of trouble when he was with the Mets in 2021. They tended to make a lot of ground ball outs, and that trend continued on Tuesday. The Phillies spent most of the game driving early count pitches into the ground towards fielders.The only run the Phillies managed was on an RBI double by Bryce Harper in the sixth. That was the only time they got a runner past first base.Once Wheeler was removed, manager Rob Thomson called upon Connor Brogdon. Using Brogdon was questionable mostly because Brogdon has largely sucked lately.You can't expect the Phillies to have these kinds of statistics at their fingertips when they decide to use him in a tie game in the eighth inning of a pennant race. https://www.philliesfansteamshop.com/Jimmy_Foxx_Apparel-15