Fueled by an impressive outing from Cristopher Sánchez, the Phillies even series against the Cardinals

ST. LOUIS — Three weeks into the season, the Phillies have tried out three leadoff hitters and five in the cleanup spot. They’ve had big innings and gotten shut out. Most days, the luckless third baseman is on the verge of a tantrum.

Overall, the offense has been ... average.

But it’s only three weeks in mostly frigid weather. There’s a lot of time to get hot, and it’s a safe bet the big-money bats will, regardless of the batting order that manager Rob Thomson ultimately settles on.

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Besides, with their starting pitching, the Phillies can wait for the offense to catch up.

Indeed, for all the marquee names in the lineup, the Phillies were always bound to follow the lead of their rotation. And Cristopher Sánchez took his turn to deliver a superb start Saturday en route to a 4-1 victory over the Cardinals in the shadow of the Gateway Arch.

“It gives us a lot of confidence knowing that we don’t have to get it done the first time through the lineup — even the second time through the lineup,” said Nick Castellanos, who delivered a two-run double in the first inning anyway. “I think it helps us relax a little bit.”

Sánchez threw his heavy sinker and bat-slowing changeup into the seventh inning and became the first Phillies pitcher to get four double plays in a game since Zack Wheeler on July 25, 2020.

Guess who’s scheduled to start the series finale Sunday?

Through 14 games, the Phillies’ starters — Wheeler, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Sánchez, and Taijuan Walker — have allowed a total of 26 earned runs in 80⅔ innings for a 2.90 ERA.

Is it any wonder why the Phillies are off to a 9-5 start?

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“You know what you’re getting from our pitchers,” second baseman Bryson Stott said. “They’re going to keep attacking the zone and getting outs. But we also have to make it easier on them and not rely on seven innings of no runs and expect them to do that all the time.”

Sánchez hiked Thomson’s blood pressure in the first inning with lower-than-usual fastball velocity. The big lefty couldn’t figure it out either, saying later that “my body just felt a little off.”

But Sánchez got back to normal after that, posting more familiar 96 and 97 mph radar readings. The Cardinals were putting the ball in play, so he took advantage by locating his sinker down in the zone and causing them to hit it into the ground.

Sánchez rolled double plays in the first, second, third, and fifth innings. It marked the first time since Aug. 31, 2007, that the Phillies turned double plays in each of the first three innings of a game. In all, Phillies pitchers got a club-record five ground-ball double plays, the first time that happened since June 1, 2021.

At one point, Sánchez said he actually thanked Stott and shortstop Trea Turner.

“Of course I told them,” Sánchez said through a team interpreter. “I don’t focus a lot about strikeouts. I’m just trying to compete the best that I can and stay out there as long as I can.

“And I love double plays.”

Almost as much as Phillies infielders enjoy getting the opportunity to turn them.

» READ MORE: Phillies try to better protect Bryce Harper in batting order by putting Kyle Schwarber behind him

“That’s what he does — get a lot of ground balls and keep us active," Stott said. “You know you’re on your toes. He throws that sinker down, and it’s hard to lift it. We’ve got to be ready at all times.”

There were other encouraging sights on the mound. For a second appearance in a row, Jordan Romano’s velocity rebounded. He cranked up his fastball to 96 mph and averaged 95. And José Alvarado pitched a spotless ninth inning to square the best-of-three series.

The Phillies haven’t lost a series in St. Louis since 2017. They are 26-15 at Busch Stadium since 2018.

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After Thomson rearranged the batting order Friday in an attempt to better protect Bryce Harper with Kyle Schwarber, the Phillies scattered three hits and got shut out for the first time since last August.

But try, try again.

As expected, Thomson stuck with the Harper-Schwarber tandem in the Nos. 3-4 spots. They reached base for a second consecutive game with two out in the first inning. This time, though, the Phillies cashed in.

Harper lined a full-count pitch up the middle for a single before Schwarber fouled off three two-strike pitches and a curveball in the dirt from Cardinals’ starter Miles Mikolas en route to working a nine-pitch walk.

Castellanos, who lined out hard in a similar situation Friday night, crushed a two-run double to center field off the glove of diving Victor Scott II, and the Phillies jumped to an early lead.

“I hit it and I thought sure-thing double,” Castellanos said. “But I saw [Scott] take off, and I was shocked at how he almost made that play.”

Stott and Turner drove in runs with two-out hits in the fifth and seventh innings, respectively. But their biggest plays came behind Sánchez, as the Phillies won another game from the mound.