When you combine a late-night West Coast game with a limited-audience streaming platform like Apple TV, odds are a lot of the Philadelphia region did not stay up to watch the Philadelphia Phillies lose 4-2 to the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday evening.
So grab your cup of coffee and catch up on what you missed from the Friday night lights.
As the ballgame concluded in Los Angeles, it was Zack Wheeler’s 36th birthday in Philadelphia. The ace starting pitcher turned 36 on Saturday. Just as he watched the book shut on his age-35 year, Wheeler too would like to close the book on his outing Friday evening.
Wheeler had only allowed one home run in his first six starts this season. Friday in Los Angeles, he allowed three times that amount. Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, and Shohei Ohtani hit their respective solo home runs in the first, second, and third innings to give the Dodgers an early 3-0 lead.
After a quiet fourth inning, Will Smith joined the solo home run parade with one to leadoff the bottom of the fifth. This marks only the second time in Wheeler’s career that he has allowed four home runs in a game, with the previous instance happening in Camden Yards on June 16, 2024.
Wheeler lasted six innings against the Dodgers, allowing the four solo home runs and one additional hit, walking one batter and striking out four batters.
While the Dodgers were making Wheeler pay with multiple solo home runs, the Phillies struggled to even get a hit. Starting pitcher Justin Wrobleski mowed down batter after batter, not allowing a baserunner until the fourth inning. Trea Turner hit a liner into right-center field, ricocheting off the glove of Kyle Tucker. Tucker, who held up slightly as he and center fielder Andy Pages had some miscommunication, was charged with an error on the play.
It was not until the sixth inning that the Phillies would manage a hit as Kyle Schwarber joined the solo home run parade, hitting the 22nd of his season to put the Phillies on the board.
The solo home run was the only hit the Phillies managed off Wrobleski, who pitched seven innings while striking out nine Phillies batters.
The Dodgers went to their well-armed bullpen for the eighth inning. Brandon Marsh lined a one-hopper off the center field fence for a double, putting a runner in scoring position with one out for the Phillies.
Steward Berroa, who was called up by the Phillies earlier that day in exchange for Otto Kemp, slipped a single into center field, scoring Marsh to bring the Dodgers’ lead down to 4-2.
Tanner Scott entered in the ninth for the Dodgers, pitching a clean frame to shut down the Phillies, securing game one of the series for the Dodgers.
Schwarber, Marsh, and Berroa managed the only base hits of the day for the Phillies as the team went a combined 3-for-31. Bryce Harper struck out three times on the night as the Phillies struck out 11 times as a collective. Wheeler received his first loss of the 2026 season while Wrobleski earned his seventh win.
The Phillies and Dodgers are back at it in another late-night matchup Saturday night in Los Angeles.
Jesús Luzardo will face off against Roki Sasaki in the 10:10 p.m. start time.
