Cristopher Sánchez strikes out 10 as the Phillies top the Blue Jays

TORONTO — Cristopher Sánchez glanced toward the Phillies dugout and signaled, one more.

He was already at 101 pitches in the seventh inning, and Orion Kerkering had already warmed up in the bullpen. The Blue Jays had just brought switch-hitting catcher Brandon Valenzuela in the game as a pinch-hitter with two runners on.

But interim manager Don Mattingly nodded, deciding to grant Sánchez’s request. Phillies pitching coach Caleb Cotham headed out for a mound visit to check in and discuss how to attack Valenzuela, but the ball stayed in Sánchez’s hand.

“Sánchy’s easy to trust,” Mattingly said.

And the Phillies lefty made sure that trust wasn’t misplaced. Like he had all night in the 5-2 win over the Blue Jays, Sánchez rebounded from adversity to induce a groundout from Valenzuela to end the inning.

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“I don’t like leaving guys on base,” Sánchez said through team interpreter Diego D’Aniello. “I felt great today. ... Obviously a big thank-you to the manager for trusting me with that. And I told him that after the game.”

An early offensive outburst was just enough for the Phillies to take the first game of the series. Sánchez gave up two runs, including his first homer allowed since April 23.

He had cruised early in his start, retiring the first six Blue Jays he faced. But after a long top of the third while the Phillies worked long at-bats against lefty Patrick Corbin, Sánchez’s command initially wasn’t as sharp.

He allowed his first hit of the day, a leadoff double to Myles Straw, and then fell behind in the count to Tyler Heineman. But he battled back to induce consecutive groundouts, conceding one run, and then struck out George Springer.

Ernie Clement led off fifth inning with a homer — the first Sánchez had allowed since April 23 — but he responded right away by retiring the next three Blue Jays. He helped himself out with a strong defensive play on a grounder hit back to him. Sánchez bobbled the ball, but recovered, barehanded it, and fired it to Harper who picked it for the out.

“I’m laughing a little bit because [Alec Bohm] at the time told me, ‘Don’t throw it, don’t throw it.’ I threw it anyway,” Sánchez said.

Sánchez also picked up right fielder Adolis García in the sixth inning. Yohendrick Piñango, the Blue Jays’ nine-hole hitter, doubled and then advanced to third when García misplayed the ball off the wall. The ball deflected off García’s foot, and he was charged with his third error of the season.

“I talked to him after the after the inning, right away, and he told me just to stay calm because he was there for us,” García said. “I think it’s really important for us to have that type of communication because it allows us to be aggressive and just go after the ball.”

Sánchez struck out the top of the Blue Jays order — Springer, Nathan Lukes, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — to leave Piñango at third base.

“I think the sixth is huge. It kind of shows who he is, right?” Mattingly said.

Sánchez struck out 10, five of which came in the sixth and seventh inning as he seemed to get sharper as his outing progressed.

The Phillies had seven hits and drew five walks. They jumped out to an early lead in the second inning. Bryson Stott won a nine-pitch battle against Corbin with a double to center field and García blasted his third homer in the last five games to put the Phillies up, 2-0.

García has continued to hit early before each game with the hitting coaches. He said he focuses on getting his timing down in those extra sessions. It’s paying off: After posting a .125 average and .182 slugging percentage in May, he is hitting .269 and slugging .654 in June.

“I feel good, and I feel comfortable at the plate. I think it’s about making the adjustments,” García said.

Patience against Corbin paid off for the Phillies in the third. After Kyle Schwarber flew out to center field to start the inning, the next seven Phillies reached base — walk, walk, hit by pitch, single, single, walk, and fielder’s choice — and they scored three more runs.

They couldn’t get much going against the Jays bullpen, which took over in the fourth, but the early cushion was enough with Sánchez on the mound for seven.

“Whenever we have him on the mound, the type of pitcher that he is, it’s almost a sure win if we get him run support,” García said.

Brad Keller took over in the eighth and sidestepped a walk and a single for a scoreless frame, while Jhoan Duran picked up his 16th save of the season in the ninth to seal the win.