Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler's exceptional performance in postseason opener draws MLB podcaster's appreciation: "Just phenomenal"

Ace Zack Wheeler dominated as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins 4-1 on Tuesday in the first game of their best-of-three wild-card series.

Wheeler struck out eight and allowed one run in 6.2 innings.

Philadelphia seems determined to redeem itself after last year's title miss, when the Phillies lost in six games to the Houston Astros in the World Series. Fans are hyped, and experts are making predictions as the Philadelphia Phillies are among the favorites to lift the World Series trophy this year.

Ace Zack Wheeler leading the Philadelphia Phillies in the postseason

Fox Sports MLB analyst Ben Verlander praised the “phenomenal” performance of Zac Wheeler on his “Flippin' Bats with Ben Verlander” podcast:

“He was absolutely dominant tonight. He looked awesome ... absolutely phenomenal. And that’s exactly what Phillies needed.”

Wheeler has started seven games in the last two postseasons, with Philadelphia winning four of those. Wheeler is 2-3 with a 2.55 ERA in 42.1 innings in the playoffs.

Wheeler went 13-6 with a 3.61 ERA, with 212 strikeouts in 192.0 innings, this season.

Verlander also mentioned the save by Philadelphia closer Craig Kimbrel in the last inning of the game. Kimbrel has a 3.96 ERA in 25.0 innings in 24 postseason games.

Kimbrel had 23 saves times in 71 games with a 3.26 ERA this year.

“The offense struck early, they struck first and they were able to hold on throughout the entire game,” Fox Sports reporter and co-host of the show Alex Curry said of the Phillies.

The Phillies got 11 hits, and without any homers, they scored four runs. Nick Castellanos and Trea Turner led the offense with two hits. Except Brandon Marsh, seven other players each got a hit.

Bryce Harper also got his power back after coming back from injury. As an experienced slugger who played in six postseasons with a .349 batting average in 17 games last year, Harper will be an essential player from the offense side.

Phillies and Marlins will play next on Wednesday in Citizens Bank Park. It's fair to say that Philly had a strong start and seems to be echoing the momentum of the last year. But with the Atlanta Braves still around, it could be anyone's call.