Zack Wheeler Slams Blue Jays in Video After Complaints About His Delivery in Phillies' Loss

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler slammed the Toronto Blue Jays for repeatedly attempting to call him out for apparently stepping off the rubber during his wind-up.

"I'm going to keep doing what I do. I've been pitching over there forever, and I'm going to keep doing it," Wheeler said after the Phillies' 5-4 Friday night loss to the visiting Blue Jays.

"They've lost a lot of games over there, so they're trying to pick some things up to complain about."

Blue Jays hitting coach Dave Popkins was ejected in the fourth inning of Friday's matchup after repeatedly calling out objections to Wheeler's foot placement.

"I don't want to hear about the rubber anymore," home plate umpire John Tumpane could be heard calling to Popkins before the ejection.

Wheeler could also be seen on the broadcast shouting an expletive he later confirmed was aimed toward Popkins.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said after the game the calls were based on "information that [Wheeler's] foot was off the rubber on the first base side, from video angles with that little step back from the windup" (h/t Phillies Nation's Destiny Lugardo).

"It's hard to see in real time, but there was just an example of our hitting coach kind of protecting the players and me doing the same," Schneider said, per Lugardo.

Wheeler said after the game he hadn't heard complaints about his foot placement prior to the 2026 campaign.

He added the issue first came up earlier this season during a nationally televised start, which MLB.com's Paul Casella identified as a June 21 matchup against the New York Mets.

"I threw one TV game earlier this year, and I guess MLB thought I was off the rubber," Wheeler said. "But we had the data that showed that I was on... I guess a couple guys at MLB were watching it, and now they decide to try and say something."

He added Tumpane told him at one point during Friday's game MLB now has him on a "list."

Wheeler, 36, has made 19 starts in his sixth season with the Phillies since returning from surgery to treat venous thoracic outlet syndrome.

He recorded his third loss of the season Friday after allowing four runs on seven hits, striking out six batters and walking five before he was pulled with the bases loaded in the sixth inning.