How Don Mattingly’s mistake doomed Phillies vs. Cardinals

While one may argue Don Mattingly’s bullpen management was questionable in the Philadelphia Phillies’ 7-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals  on Wednesday, it was the interim manager’s decision to leave Zack Wheeler in the game throughout a stressful 5th inning that was the team’s demise in the contest. It is worth remembering that Wheeler was frustrated earlier this season after being removed from a game in the 5th inning. This time Mattingly left the veteran pitcher in the game, and the decision backfired.

The Phillies and Cardinals entered the bottom of the 5th inning tied 1-1 on Wednesday afternoon in St. Louis. Pitch count wasn’t a concern and Wheeler was pitching well overall. However, the Cardinals began to find success and get runners on base. Ivan Herrera came through with an RBI single and Alec Burleson added a two-RBI double.

Mattingly continued to trust the starter despite the fact that he was clearly running out of gas. Wheeler ended up allowing another RBI double in the inning to Jordan Walker to make the score 5-1.

While that may not have been an insurmountable deficit, coming back while trailing 5-1 after the 5th inning was always going to be a challenge. The Phillies’ offense failed to meet the challenge and ended up going scoreless for the remainder of the contest. One could blame the lineup — which certainly did not give the Phillies a chance to win. One could blame Wheeler, who did not pitch well in his final inning of work. The bullpen also allowed two more earned runs which was obviously far from ideal.

However, it was Mattingly’s decision to leave Wheeler in the game that placed the Phillies in a difficult spot to win. There is something to be said for trusting one of your best pitchers, but the reality of the situation is that Philadelphia has been struggling since the All-Star break and wins are of the utmost importance right now.

Mattingly should have turned to the bullpen when Wheeler began to struggle in that 5th inning. Perhaps what happened earlier in the season lingered in Mattingly’s mind, or maybe the fact that Wheeler’s pitch count was in a fine position was the driving force behind the decision to stick with him. Either way, the Phillies lost the game and are now 64-58 overall and currently a half-game back of a National League Wild Card spot and nine games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East.

The Phillies certainly still have hope this season, but Mattingly will need to be better when it comes to making difficult in-game decisions.