Phillies’ Wheeler sharply critical of MLB decision to exclude him from All-Star game

CINCINNATI (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler described his 14-strikeout outing in a victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night a “reminder for whoever needs to be reminded” that Major League Baseball erred in leaving him off of National League roster for next week’s All-Star game.

“It pisses me off and it’s kind of BS,” Wheeler (9-1) said in postgame comments broadcast by NBC Sports Philadelphia.

The 36-year-old Wheeler’s career high-tying strikeout performance in a 4-1 victory came mere hours after Major League Baseball announced that three other National League pitchers — Riley O’Brien of St. Louis, Philadelphia’s Jesús Luzardo and Pittsburgh’s Braxton Ashcraft — had been tapped as All-Star replacements.

The three late additions to the July 14 All-Star game — being held this season in Philadelphia — replaced Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes, Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski and Miami’s Max Meyer, who are all scheduled to pitch for their teams this weekend.

Wheeler, too, is scheduled to pitch this weekend against Detroit, and was given the impression that is the reason he wasn’t selected as a replacement.

“Just because I pitch on a certain day, I get — you know — I don’t even know the right word,” Wheeler said. “Because I pitch on a certain day, I can’t pitch in the All-Star game or even be there or get the recognition.”

Wheeler said that if a deserving pitcher wants to participate in the All-Star game, they should at least have the opportunity to be named to the roster, regardless of when they’re scheduled to pitch for their own team.

“Maybe if I wasn’t necessarily right in there I wouldn’t be saying this, but I feel like I’ve earned it,” Wheeler said. “There’s certain ways to do it and you figure they would have a clue about it by now — how many All-Star games they’ve had.”

Wheeler said he even would have been willing to pitch an inning in the All-Star game on two days’ rest, when he’d normally be throwing anyway in a bullpen session.

“It’s kind of a BS rule that just because I pitch on a certain day I get punished,” Wheeler continued. ”I’ll be fine throwing an inning. But it’s not even an option, I guess.”

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Kyle Schwarber, who helped power the Phillies’ offense with his major league-best 31st home run of the season, said he understood Wheeler’s frustration.

“When someone deserves it, you want them to get that acknowledgment,” said Schwarber, a four-time All-Star who was selected to this season’s National League roster as a designated hitter.

“We’re only in this game for so long,” Schwarber said. “You want to be able to look back and feel like you have some things that put some feathers in the cap.”

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb