Cristopher Sánchez makes history in pitching Phillies to a sweep of the Padres
Sánchez ran his scoreless innings streak to 44⅔, breaking Grover Cleveland Alexander’s team record set in 1911. And he posted his fifth straight start of at least seven shutout innings.
SAN DIEGO — Cristopher Sánchez had toppled a Hall of Famer and broken a franchise record that had stood for 115 years, but there were no big celebrations.
Not right away, anyway. Bryce Harper made sure to secure the ball Sánchez had used to extend his scoreless streak to 41⅔ innings, passing Grover Cleveland Alexander for the longest in franchise history. But Sánchez couldn’t bask in it; he had only just completed the fourth inning against the Padres and still had an outing to finish.
So after he walked off the field, history officially made, Sánchez disappeared into the tunnel to conduct his usual mid-inning routine.
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Later, when he struck out Ty France to complete seven shutout innings in the Phillies’ 3-0 win over San Diego, the high fives and congratulations could begin. Sánchez had extended his own record to 44⅔ scoreless innings. He hasn’t allowed a run since April 30, and has thrown at least seven scoreless innings in each of his last five starts — also a franchise record.
Alexander’s team record of 41 scoreless innings had stood since 1911.
It wasn’t smooth sailing the entire time for Sánchez on Wednesday, but as he’s done consistently throughout the streak, he managed to work his way out of trouble. He fell behind in counts often, throwing first-pitch strikes only 48% of the time, but still did not issue a walk.
Sánchez struck out nine, with five coming on his changeup.
The Padres threatened the streak several times. They advanced a runner to second base in the first inning and third base in the second, but each time Sánchez rebounded to strand him there.
He walked out for the fourth inning with a chance to break the record, and Manny Machado came a few feet from ending it with one swing. He crushed a changeup to left field that just stayed in the ballpark for Edmundo Sosa to make the catch at the wall. Sánchez and Machado grinned at each other as Machado walked off.
Ramón Laureano jeopardized the streak again with a two-out double to left field, but Jackson Merrill grounded out to second base to put Sánchez’s name atop the record books.
Sánchez and Machado shared another smile in the sixth inning, after Justin Crawford made a spectacular jumping catch on the warning track to rob the Padres designated hitter of extra bases. Crawford made a long run to snag the ball, which had a .730 expected batting average, and hung onto it while crashing face-first into the center field wall.
The Phillies’ offense gave Sánchez a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning. Crawford singled off Padres starter Walker Buehler for his first hit since May 18. Edmundo Sosa was hit by a pitch, ending Buehler’s day at just 58 pitches as Padres manager Craig Stammen brought in lefty Adrian Morejon for Kyle Schwarber.
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It didn’t pay off, as Schwarber punched a single to right field that easily scored Crawford from second. Turner hit an RBI groundout in the next at-bat that drove in Sosa, as well.
Turner homered in the ninth for an insurance run. He has homered in two straight games since interim manager Don Mattingly dropped him to the No. 2 spot in the batting order and put Schwarber in leadoff.
Jonathan Bowlan and José Alvarado pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth inning, respectively, to secure the shutout and complete the sweep over San Diego.
As the Phillies continue to seek more production out of the cleanup spot, Rhys Hoskins was back in town with the Cleveland Guardians. Hoskins sat down with "Phillies Extra," The Inquirer's baseball podcast, to discuss his role with the first-place Guardians, his legacy with the Phillies, and more. Watch here.
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