The Philadelphia Phillies came up short in a 5-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night, but the postgame conversation quickly shifted away from the final score.
Philadelphia ace Zack Wheeler responded to complaints from Toronto's dugout after Blue Jays hitting coach David Popkins was ejected for arguing that Wheeler's back foot was coming off the rubber during his delivery.
Anthony SanFilippo of On Pattison shared Wheeler's postgame comments on X after the game, where the veteran right-hander dismissed the accusations while taking a swipe at Toronto's season.
"I'm gonna keep doing what I do. I've been pitching over there forever, and I'm gonna keep doing it," Wheeler said. "You know, they've lost a lot of games over there, so they're probably trying to pick some things up to complain about."
The exchange stemmed from the fourth inning, when Popkins repeatedly questioned Wheeler's mechanics from the Blue Jays dugout before home plate umpire John Tumpane ejected him. Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly later defended his starter, saying the club has already provided MLB with alternate video angles showing Wheeler's delivery is legal and that the center-field camera can create a misleading view.
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The controversy came during one of Wheeler's rougher outings of the season. He surrendered four earned runs on seven hits over 5.1 innings while walking five and striking out six on 116 pitches.
Despite the loss, Wheeler remains among the National League's top starters with a 10-3 record, a 2.69 ERA and 132 strikeouts across 110.1 innings in 19 starts. Philadelphia continues to manage his workload after he missed the final two months of the 2025 season following decompression surgery for venous thoracic outlet syndrome.
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