Phillies ace Zack Wheeler (back) to skip Sunday start

PHILADELPHIA -- Phillies ace Zack Wheeler will skip his scheduled start Sunday and use the upcoming All-Star break to recover from nagging back issues.

Wheeler, a two-time NL All-Star, left his last start, a 10-1 win over the Dodgers on Tuesday, after five innings because of back spasms. After the game, the 34-year-old right-hander said he had been dealing with the back issue for weeks.

Wheeler had an MRI on Wednesday that showed no structural damage. He reported still being sore Wednesday, but manager Rob Thomson said Thursday that his pitcher was feeling better.

Wheeler is 10-4 with a 2.70 ERA in 19 starts for the major league-leading Phillies.

"We're going to be precautionary," Thomson said. "We'll line him up coming out of the break. We haven't lined it up exactly yet, but we'll make sure to take care of him."

Wheeler could be pushed back as far as July 23, skipping just Sunday's planned start, which would give him a two-week break.

He wasn't going to pitch in the All-Star Game on Tuesday night because he was originally scheduled to start Sunday. There has been no word on whether he plans to fly down to Texas for the festivities.

Thomson hasn't said who will start in Wheeler's place in the finale of a three-game set against Oakland, but he hinted that it could be a bullpen game.

"It all depends on what happens Friday and Saturday," he said. "Hopefully we don't use a lot of bullpen on Saturday and we can run our guys out there [Sunday]. We can get them some work going into the break."