Wheeler Sets Strikeout Mark, Stott Delivers in Eighth as Phillies Top Brewers 6-4

Zack Wheeler opened with a franchise-record seven consecutive strikeouts and Bryson Stott broke a late tie to lift Philadelphia past Milwaukee 6-4 on Tuesday.

Philadelphia right-hander Zack Wheeler dominated early, retiring the first seven Milwaukee hitters by strikeout on his way to 11 total in the game. The streak set a Phillies franchise mark for consecutive strikeouts from the start of a game and only ended when Cooper Pratt grounded out to third for the second out of the third inning. Teammate Aaron Nola, who shares the MLB record of 10 straight strikeouts set against the Mets in 2021, watched from the dugout.

After the Brewers drew even at 3-3 with a two-run sixth against Wheeler, Bryson Stott came through with a two-out single to center off Colton Gordon in the bottom of the eighth. Garrett Mitchell's throw to third caromed off Alec Bohm's foot, allowing both Bohm and Luis Arraez to cross the plate for a 5-3 lead. The Phillies finished off a 6-4 win at home on Tuesday night.

Brandon Marsh contributed a home run, a double and three RBIs for Philadelphia, which entered the day holding the last National League wild-card position, four games ahead of Arizona and one game behind the Padres and Cubs for the top seed, with the tiebreaker over San Diego but not Chicago. William Contreras drove in three for the NL Central-leading Brewers, who fell to 13-6 in September and missed a chance to add to their franchise-record win total of 98.

Milwaukee could have locked up a wild-card-round bye and home-field advantage in the NLDS with a victory or an Atlanta loss to Cincinnati. José Alvarado improved to 5-3 by recording the final out of the eighth, and Jhoan Duran notched his 33rd save. The three-game series continues Wednesday night, with Logan Henderson (10-3, 2.51 ERA) scheduled to face Aaron Nola (7-10, 4.49).