Cristopher Sánchez dazzles again, but Jhoan Duran continues to change Phillies’ ninth-inning formula
A few days ago, Sanchez probably would have gone out for the ninth after eight shutout innings against the Tigers. But everything changed with the addition of Duran.
Cristopher Sánchez made it through the eighth inning in 11 pitches, boosting his overall pitch count to a modest total of 84 in a one-run game Sunday night.
Out in the bullpen, Jhoan Duran had one thought.
“He’ll throw the whole game,” the Phillies’ new closer said.
A few days ago, Sánchez probably would have, manager Rob Thomson conceded. But everything changed last week. The Phillies traded for a fire-breathing closer the likes of which they haven’t had in 10 years.
» READ MORE: An inside look at why Phillies closer Jhoan Duran’s signature ‘splinker’ is such an effective pitch
And so, Sánchez yielded to Duran, who punctuated a 12-pitch save with a swing-and-miss on a 102.5 mph fastball to close out a series-clinching 2-0 victory over the Tigers before 41,569 paying customers in Citizens Bank Park and a national television audience at home.
“He’s one of the best closers in the game, and we have him on our side,” Sánchez said through a team interpreter. “It’s incredible. It’s the best thing that could have happened to us.”
Well, that’s debatable. Sánchez’s transformation into a Cy Young Award contender is up there, too.
The Phillies (63-48) won the series against the Tigers, who are tied with the Blue Jays for the best record in the American League (65-48). They also moved back into first place in the NL East by a half-game over the Mets.
As ever, it started with starting pitching for the Phillies.
Sánchez used his sinker and signature changeup to dazzle again. He sliced and diced the Tigers, holding them to five hits (all singles), and trimmed his ERA to 2.40, third-lowest in the National League behind Pirates sensation Paul Skenes (2.02) and Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd (2.34).
And when Sánchez got into a jam, the Phillies played their most complete defensive game of the season.
To wit: With two on and one out in a 1-0 game in the seventh inning, Edmundo Sosa backhanded a one-hopper to third base and took flat-footed aim at home plate. And with Jahmai Jones taking an inside lane to the plate, it took a perfect throw over Jones’ shoulder to cut him down.
No wonder Sosa let out a deep breath after the play.
“Personally, me as a runner, I’m thinking running toward the inside of the line and maybe bother the defender a little, bother his sight,” Sosa said through an interpreter. “That’s what I anticipated as a defender. I thought maybe he’s going to do that. I tried to cut the throw inside a little.”
Said Realmuto: “Sosa made a great throw. With where the runner was, he couldn’t make a throw inside the line. He put it in the perfect spot. It was just instinctual on his part.”
Maybe, then, the save should have been shared between Duran and Sosa. Give a slice to second baseman Bryson Stott for his dive up the middle to snare Gleyber Torres’ bouncer to end the eighth inning.
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“If they don’t play the kind of defense that they did today, I think we would have lost the game,” Sánchez said. “That’s the bottom line for me. I think that they deserve all the credit.”
Kyle Schwarber helped the cause, too, opening a two-run lead in the eighth with a 435-foot homer off a railing atop the batter’s eye against Tigers lefty Tyler Holton. It was Schwarber’s 38th homer of the season, matching his 2024 total, and his league-leading 14th off a left-handed pitcher.
Did Thomson consider sending Sánchez out for the ninth?
“Well,” he said, “that’s why we got Duran.”
What if they didn’t? Would Sánchez have come back out?
“Probably,” Thomson said. “Yeah.”
But out came Duran, with his lights-out entrance and the club mix soundtrack. Two nights earlier, in his Phillies debut, he recorded three outs on four pitches — all splinkers, his unique splitter/sinker hybrid.
This time, he unleashed a first-pitch fastball.
Velocity: 101.3 mph.
Duran threw 10 fastballs, none less than 100. His 103.3 mph heater to Riley Greene was the fastest recorded pitch by a Phillies pitcher since at least 2008.
“That’s pretty good,” Thomson said.
Said Duran: “It feels normal for me.”
» READ MORE: Welcome to the Jhoan Duran Show: The new closer picks up his first save as Phillies rally past the Tigers
It’s the Phillies’ new reality, and it might just render complete games even more obsolete than they already are. Even when the starter gets through eight innings in 84 pitches.
Duran was almost apologetic about it.
“I talked to [Sánchez], and I said to him, ‘You did an amazing job. I wanted you throw the whole game because I was a starting pitcher in the minor leagues and I love to see the starting pitching do that.”
There’s no need any more.
“When you have a guy like Duran back there,” Schwarber said, “you’re going to hand him the ball in the ninth. Right?”