CINCINNATI — After Zack Wheeler’s start on Sunday in which he threw just 83 pitches in his five innings with significantly lower velocity, manager Rob Thomson said the way Wheeler would feel on Monday would be key as he battles through shoulder soreness.

Well, nothing to see here. All good. No complaints whatsoever. That’s the feeling the manager gave Monday while meeting with the media before the Phillies took on the Cincinnati Reds.

“Says he feels good so we’re good to go,” Thomson said. “He did his regular ‘pen.”

Thomson said that Wheeler would be ready to go for his next start, which would be Friday in Washington.

Wheeler had been pushed back a couple of days for his last start and it was revealed that he had been feeling soreness the last few starts. Labeling the soreness and the true severity of it wasn’t something Thomson really wanted to share.

“I think every pitcher is sore after a start, he was just more sore,” Thomson said. “It was regular soreness, just a little bit more. I think every pitcher loses velocity at some point during the course of the year and then they catch a second wind and pick it back up. I have full confidence that he’s going to do that.”

Getting through those five innings against the Rangers in which he gave up only two earned runs was a gutsy performance from the Phillies’ ace. Thomson was also effusive in his praise for catcher J.T. Realmuto for helping guide Wheeler through the game.

“So valuable,” Thomson said of Realmuto. “It really is. It’s difficult to be behind the plate, you know your guy doesn’t have his best stuff or doesn’t have his signature pitch on any given day because it happens. To be able to change the plan, to be able to audible, if you will, to get him through the five innings or the six innings. It’s tough and he’s really good at it. Really good at it.”

Realmuto said that the adjustments started pretty much with the first pitch on Sunday when he noticed the velocity for Wheeler and the command on his fastball wasn’t there. Adjustments were made and the game was won. That’s all that matters for Thomson and his team.

Down on the farm

Reliever Jose Alvarado pitched an inning for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Sunday and got through his one inning with no hits, a strikeout and threw nine strikes of his 14 pitches.

“Alvarado was great. He really was,” Thomson said. “The velocity was there, threw strikes. Very dominant, really.”

Starter Andrew Painter was not. In his 4 1/3 innings, he allowed seven earned runs on nine hits. He struck out six, walked two and allowed two home runs.

“Command again,” Thomson said of why Painter struggled. “I watched every pitch. The stuff’s there and I thought yesterday’s command was better than the time before. He got hit a little bit more, that’s all. The stuff is definitely there. And now there’s probably some fatigue setting in too because he hasn’t had this workload for a couple years (because of Tommy John surgery). I think it’s normal. I really do. I’m not concerned about it at all.”

Asked if it may finally be time to shut down the thought of Painter joining the big club at all this season, Thomson wouldn’t go that far.

Third baseman Alec Bohm got his first action in about a month, going 0 for 4.

“Bohm made a great barehand play,” Thomson said. “Had four at-bats. Grounded out three times. They threw him a lot of breaking balls yesterday. He just got in front. He had one good swing where he drove the ball to right-center for an out. But the swing looked good.”

There is no timetable as of yet for a Bohm return as Thomson has said the organization will know when it knows.