Phillies: Opening week a test for Girardi, Wheeler, Gregorius

Phillies starter Zack Wheeler has some good history with the Marlins, but some bad history with the Yankees.

The right-handed pitcher is expected to be second in the Phillies rotation behind Aaron Nola, though he’s on the fence about whether to play this season with his first child on the way.

If he does play, his first start could come in the second game against the Marlins, a team he’s done historically well against.

Wheeler has a 7-3 record, 1.91 ERA, and 0.933 WHIP in 14 career starts against the Marlins.

The ERA and WHIP are his best against any team he’s faced more than twice, while the seven wins and his 105 strikeouts are the most he’s had against any team.

Of course, spending his previous five seasons with the New York Mets, he’s had a higher number of starts against the other four NL East teams, which helps with the win and strikeout totals.

Still, the Marlins are a team he’s proven capable of beating.

The Yankees, however, are a team that Wheeler’s struggled against as recently as last season.

If Wheeler starts game two of the season in a five-man rotation, he’ll line-up to start the second game in New York.

Wheeler has a 0-1 record, 7.04 ERA and 1.957 WHIP in three starts against the Yankees.

Two of those starts came last season, where he gave up five earned runs off of 10 hits and a walk in 4.2 innings pitched at Yankee Stadium in June, before giving up two earned runs off of five hits and a walk in 6.1 innings pitched at Citi Field in July.

His previous start came at Yankee Stadium in 2014, where he gave up five earned runs off of seven hits and six walks in 4.1 innings pitched.

Wheeler finished 2014 with a 7-5 record and 3.09 ERA on the road and finished last season with a 5-5 record and 4.00 ERA on the road, so he’s better than those Yankee Stadium starts have shown.

Opening week will be a test for Wheeler to see if he can continue his success against the Marlins and right the ship against the Yankees.