J.T. Realmuto suffers bruised neck, as Phillies’ bats go quiet in 3-0 shutout by the Cardinals

ST. LOUIS — It has been 11 games, roughly the equivalent of Week 1 (and a first-quarter drive in Week 2) of a football season. And it’s inherently foolish to render judgments from a sample so minuscule.

Let’s stick to the facts, then: The Phillies are winless in three games started by their ace, Zack Wheeler, who has a 1.89 ERA.

And from that, let’s say this with certainty: That must change.

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But as bad as it was Tuesday night for the Phillies to lose, 3-0, to the Cardinals when Wheeler allowed three hard-hit balls to 28 batters, it could have been far worse. Ironman catcher J.T. Realmuto left the game, albeit without assistance, in the seventh inning after getting hit in the throat under the mask by a bouncing curveball.

Early reports, according to manager Rob Thomson, were that Realmuto tested negative for a concussion and had a bruised neck.

“It doesn’t look like there’s any broken bones or anything,” Thomson said. “We’ll just check him [Wednesday].”

But the mere sight of Realmuto leaving a game was jarring enough. He has played through nearly everything over the last five seasons with the Phillies, starting 130 regular-season games in each of the last two years and all 30 postseason games.

Realmuto moved to his right to block Wheeler’s dirt-diving curveball to Brendan Donovan with two out in the seventh inning. After the pitch hit him on the right side of the throat, near the collarbone, Realmuto got to his feet, staggered slightly, and was examined by athletic trainer Paul Buchheit.

“He started getting a little headache and just didn’t look normal,” Thomson said, “so we got him out.”

Said Kyle Schwarber: “Whenever you see a guy stumble, that’s a ball to the throat, that’s never good. I think everything’s checking out all right so far, but he’s such an important part to the team. He’s got that tough background. For him to come off the field, hopefully he comes in and everything feels great.”

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Realmuto has been among the Phillies’ few productive hitters through the first two weeks. But even he struck out three times, including with a runner on third base after Bryce Harper rolled into a double play, in the sixth inning.

The Phillies hit into three rally-vaporizing double plays and struck out 13 times. They have scored 41 runs in 11 games. A partial look at the ugly numbers lately:

“We didn’t come up with a clutch hit there. That’s just kind of the way it’s going,” Schwarber said. “It’s frustrating, sure. But the only thing that we can do is keep getting back to the box and keep going. It’s the first 11 games and there’s many more games to go, but we have to be able to keep making the adjustments and not try to put that pressure on.”

The Phillies faced Sonny Gray, who signed a three-year, $75 million deal in the offseason to anchor St. Louis’ rotation. It was hardly an easy assignment.

But Gray was also making his Cardinals debut after straining his right hamstring in spring training. He was limited to about 65 pitches, so even though the veteran righty was sharp, mixing cutters, curveballs, and sweepers with his fastball, the Phillies were bound to get opportunities against the bullpen.

They had chances against Gray, too. But Stott grounded into a double play in the second inning, Schwarber struck out with a runner on second in the third, and the Phillies couldn’t drive in Trea Turner from second base with one out in the fourth.

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With two on, one out, and Gray pressed up against his pitch limit in the fifth, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol stuck with Gray against No. 9-hitting Johan Rojas, who bounced into an inning-ending double play.

And if the Phillies were just playing rope-a-dope until they faced the Cardinals’ bullpen, well, lefty reliever Matthew Liberatore got Harper to ground into a double play in the sixth before former Phillies lefty JoJo Romero wiggled his way out of a bases-loaded, one-out spot in the seventh by striking out pinch-hitting Whit Merrifield and Schwarber.

“We’re struggling to score runs,” Thomson said. “That’ll change. I have full confidence that we’re going to score runs.”

It’s been the theme in Wheeler’s starts. He tossed six scoreless innings against the Braves on opening day and was strong for seven innings in the rain last week against the Reds. The Phillies have scored a total of four runs in his three starts.

“I know these guys will swing it eventually when I’m on the mound,” Wheeler said. “All I can do is try to keep runs off the board. I have all the faith in these guys. We have a really good lineup. It’s going to happen throughout the season. But it’s not the end of the world. It’s early in the season. We’ll get everything right.”