The Associated Press Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) heads to the dugout after handing the ball to manager Don Kelly during the sixth inning.

PITTSBURGH — Zack Wheeler pitched seven sparkling innings, and Bryce Harper hit a home run off ace Paul Skenes on Sunday to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates and a sweep of the three-game series.

Wheeler (3-0) gave up four hits while striking out eight and walking one. His ERA is 1.99 in six starts since beginning the season on the injured list while recovering from surgery to have a blood clot removed from his upper right arm.

“Honestly, you have to stay in the game with (Skenes). You can’t give him a three- or four-run cushion,” Phillies manager Don Mattingly said. “You can’t beat this guy up. It happened maybe once this year. You can’t count on anything like that. Your starter has to be good. We have the right guy.”

Jonathan Bowlan and Tanner Banks pitched one inning each to finish the five-hitter.

Harper led off the sixth inning with his 12th home run to push the Phillies’ lead to 3-0. Later in the inning, Bryson Stott added a two-run double off reliever Isaac Mattson with the runs being charged to Skenes (6-3), who was lifted after Alec Bohm singled and Brandon Marsh doubled.

The Phillies (24-23) have won seven of eight games to get above .500 for the first time since April 7. They were 8-18 on April 25 when they activated Wheeler. They are 16-5 since his return.

Skenes tied a career-high by giving up five runs in five-plus innings. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner allowed six hits, struck out seven, and walked one.

“Other than one pitch, I thought it was really good against them,” Skenes said. “Sometimes you throw a pitch, and they take you yard. You can’t get too hung up on that. I just didn’t execute a few pitches, and they got to them. It’s challenging, but it’s the big leagues; every lineup is good. Just got to execute a little more consistently.”

Skenes’ career-best scoreless innings streak ended at 20 when the Phillies had a two-run fifth. Justin Crawford drove in the first run on a groundout, and Trea Turner followed with an RBI single.

“Obviously, we talked about their offense and how good they are,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said of the Phillies. “I think the leadoff walk to (Adolis) Garcia, JT (Realmuto) got the base hit. Konnor made a heck of a play on that one ball, and then Turner shot one the other way. And then in the sixth, with the homer, then back-to-back base hits, it just seemed like (Skenes) was tired out there.”

The Pirates have lost four of five.

O’Hearn out

The Pirates placed outfielder/first baseman Ryan O’Hearn on the 10-day injured list on Sunday with a strained right quad and activated outfielder Jake Mangum from the IL.

O’Hearn was injured while playing first base in a loss to Philadelphia on Saturday. He collided with batter Bryson Stott while catching a pop-up in the third inning.

Signed as a free agent in the offseason, O’Hearn is hitting .291 with seven home runs in 43 games.

Mangum had been sidelined since May 6 with a strained left hamstring. He has a .260 batting average and five stolen bases in 30 games after being acquired from Tampa Bay in an offseason trade.

Pitcher added

The Pirates on Saturday acquired right-handed pitcher Kyle Robinson from the Athletics, in exchange for infielder Alika Williams.

The 22-year-old Robinson, who was selected by the A’s out of Texas Tech University in the 11th round of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft, went 1-1 with one save, a 3.62 ERA and 19 strikeouts in six appearances (five starts) with Lansing (Athletics’ High-A) this season prior to the trade.

Saturday’s game

Cristopher Sanchez struck out a career-high 13 while picking up the second shutout of his big league career as the Phillies beat the Pirates 6-0 on Saturday to reach .500 for the first time since mid-April.

Sanchez (5-2), the National League Cy Young Award runner-up a year ago, allowed five hits and didn’t issue a walk while extending his scoreless streak to 29ª innings. He dropped his ERA to 1.82 with the fifth complete game and third shutout in the major leagues this season.

Philadelphia (23-23) improved to 14-4 since Mattingly replaced Rob Thomson as manager and made bench coach Dusty Wathan a winner during his managerial debut. Wathan filled in while Mattingly attended a son’s college graduation.

Harper hit a 457-foot three-run homer off the batter’s eye in the first inning off Bubba Chandler (1-5). Trea Turner and Alec Bohm had two hits apiece. Kyle Schwarber, baseball’s leading home run hitter, added an RBI single as the Phillies gave Sanchez an early five-run lead and cruised.

One night after the Phillies rallied from six down to stun Pittsburgh in extra innings, Sanchez made sure no comeback was needed. He retired the first 11 batters he faced and never really ran into trouble until the ninth inning, when the Pirates put runners on first and third with one out.

With a reliever warming up in the bullpen, Sanchez struck out Marcell Ozuna to reach 13 strikeouts for the first time and then retired Nick Yorke on a groundball to end it.

While Sanchez was crisp, Chandler was not. The hard-throwing 23-year-old, considered an important part of Pittsburgh’s future, continued to struggle with his command. Chandler issued four walks in his three innings of work, pushing his total on the season to a major league-leading 31.

And when Chandler did find the strike zone, Schwarber and Harper made him pay.

It took Philadelphia all of three batters to take control. Turner led off with a single. Schwarber walked, and Harper followed with his 11th homer of the season, a monster shot that made the significant chunk of the PNC Park crowd who made the five-hour drive across the state roar with approval.

Up next

After having Monday off, the Pirates open a three-game series on Tuesday night in St. Louis with RHP Mitch Keller (4-2, 3.59) facing LHP Matthew Liberatore (2-2, 4.20).