NL WILD CARD SERIES: MARLINS VS PHILLIES

October 3, 2023

Zack Wheeler

Citizens Bank Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Postgame Press Conference

Q. Zack, your velocity was up. It was up throughout last postseason. You're a guy who pitches like 200 innings a year. How is it possible this deep into the season that you have all your crispest stuff?

ZACK WHEELER: I don't know honestly. It's got to be the atmosphere and the adrenaline going. As soon as I step foot out of the dugout to go stretch out there in the bullpen, the crowd went nuts, and I got chills. So it started right there. I think it just kind of carries into me throwing the baseball. It definitely helps.

Q. Was that your best stuff for the season, do you feel like?

ZACK WHEELER: That was the best the sweeper's been. That was a big pitch for me tonight. I just had a very good feel for where to start it and what it was going to do. It did the same thing every single time, no matter if I threw it up or down. So it was a big pitch for me tonight.

We really relied a lot on it. I was talking to J.T. about it just now, and I don't know, I mean, fastball was there. Velo and command for the most part. I know they're an aggressive team, so you've just got to go right after them and just keep mixing it up.

Q. How have you felt about the sweeper this season? You started throwing it in Spring Training. Has it been up and down from start to start, or has it been a build towards this moment?

ZACK WHEELER: It's kind of a mix just because I've been messing with my mechanics just a little bit throughout the season. So when I do something a little different with that, I've got to tweak certain pitches also because they come out of hand differently.

It's nothing crazy. It was just little things here and there. I felt like it was kind of -- like my mechanics all this season, it was kind of hit or miss. It felt really good tonight.

Q. Just one last one. How satisfying was this start tonight? You've talked a lot about how last season ended and how it left a bitter taste in your mouth.

ZACK WHEELER: I mean, last year is what it is, but this year we're a new team. I don't know, just trying to do the same thing. Just go deep into the games, good quality innings, try to save the bullpen because I know it's going to be a long road ahead of us. That's the biggest goal.

Q. Zack, your numbers in Game 1 starts the past couple of games when you started are outstanding. What sort of mindset do you take out there for Game 1, and how key is it to get the team off to -- to be up 1-0 basically?

ZACK WHEELER: Yeah, Game 1's huge, especially at home. You don't want to let these fans down, and you want to start off on a good foot and keep the crowd into it. So that's the goal right away, then ease your way into it and kind of dial it back a little bit if you need to or bump it up a little bit.

I don't know. It's Game 1. It's a big game. You've got to get ahead and get that win, especially in a short series.

Q. When you have a game like you had tonight on the mound, does the offense feed into that? Does that energize the offense as well?

ZACK WHEELER: I think it kind of goes back to what I was just talking about, just keeping the crowd in it, not letting them get on the board, not letting them get rallies going and stuff like that. I think, if that happens, the fans stay alive and help out our hitters.

I know they feed off of it. You get a base knock or somebody gets on, and the crowd's going nuts. I know I've pitched in crazy atmospheres, and it's hard to concentrate out there a little bit, especially if you haven't been in the situation. It's hard to lock it in sometimes, and that's how we start good rallies.

Q. You mentioned earlier this week about even just taking a moment to appreciate it and enjoy the moment. Maybe you kind of learned from last year. Did you have that moment tonight where you just kind of let it sink in even if it was just momentarily?

ZACK WHEELER: Definitely. You never take it for granted. Like I said earlier, just walking out of the dugout to the bullpen, I got chills right away. I knew it was going to be crazy, but I didn't expect that. That was awesome. They really got me going.

That's why we all love it playing here at home. Throughout the game, maybe 3-2 pitch or sometimes with two strikes, the crowd's going crazy, and you kind of just sit there and just take it in for a second and then lock it back in and go after the guy.

Q. I don't know if you do this before every start, but you were standing on the top step watching the regulars take batting practice before this game. Is that your normal routine, or was that something different?

ZACK WHEELER: Honestly, this is going to sound funny, but a lot of the locker rooms are like ice boxes, so I try to get out there and get my body temp back to normal because I'm freezing inside. It's also just going outside and just enjoying the day and just enjoy watching guys work on their craft.

I don't know, I get kind of bored sometimes just sitting around.

Q. Since '18 you've gotten some -- you've stacked up some pretty good numbers, and through your first seven starts in the postseason, you're outperforming some Hall of Famers. Do you feel like, number one, you get enough recognition? I know you don't care about it a lot, but do you feel like you get the recognition you deserve? And do you feel like -- do you feel special right now?

ZACK WHEELER: I just feel like I'm doing my job, honestly. That's why I came here, and that's why the Phillies signed me was to pitch like I am. So maybe some people didn't expect it or were scared of it at first because of my history, but I knew what I was capable of.

It's been fun. It's been a fun ride. Making it to the postseason, there's nothing like it. I just try to do the exact same thing, but I think my adrenaline and everything comes up, and it just plays a tiny bit more, and sometimes that helps you.