Zack Wheeler has been the Phillies ace all season, though he doesn’t have much competition for the title.
He has a 2.15 ERA and 118 strikeouts over 14 starts (96 1/3 innings) so far and has only walked 22 of 373 batters faced. He’s never had an ERA under 3.31 in any other season of his career in which he’s started more than 11 games. And no other starter in the Phillies rotation this year has an ERA under 4.22.
But this story isn’t about Wheeler or how the Phillies desperately need to upgrade their rotation.
It’s about Taylor Swift.
During Wheeler’s June 16 start against the Dodgers – the only scoreless start by any Phillies pitcher during the road trip, by the way – the Phillies social team tweeted these photos of Wheeler, captioned with a Taylor Swift lyric from her song “Red”:
Loving him is red. 🎶 pic.twitter.com/0wm1OYMNUq
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 17, 2021
They had some fun with fans too:
faster than the wind, passionate as sin
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 17, 2021
(Zack's version)
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 17, 2021
Did the Phillies know Taylor Swift’s announcement ahead of time?
Barely a day later, Taylor Swift announced that her next album would be her version of Red! Coincidence?!
The next album that I’ll be releasing is my version of Red, which will be out on November 19. This will be the first time you hear all 30 songs that were meant to go on Red. And hey, one of them is even ten minutes long🧣 https://t.co/FOBLS5aHpS pic.twitter.com/6zWa64Owgp
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 18, 2021
Did the Phillies have a heads-up here? After all, Swift was born and raised in Reading, Pennsylvania. She even sang the National Anthem before Game 3 of the 2008 World Series, which the Phillies would win on their way to their second championship in franchise history.
Maybe Swift gave her hometown team the inside scoop.
Related Story. Wheel’s Up: How Zack Wheeler Became the Phillies’ Ace. light