Cristopher Sánchez struck out a career-best 13 batters on his way to pitching a complete game shutout against the Pirates on Saturday. Sánchez allowed six base hits and zero walks, throwing 108 pitches on the day.
The top of the order showed up in a big way for their ace starting pitcher as the Phillies scored six runs in support of Sánchez. They now improve to a .500 record for the first time since April 13.
Dusty Wathan, newly dubbed 'interim to the interim manager of the Phillies', will pause his Major League managerial career with a perfect 1.000 win percentage. Interim manager Don Mattingly spent the day at Purdue University for his son’s commencement. As a collective, the Phillies have now won each of their six series since letting manager Rob Thomson go in late April.
Trea Turner took little time reaching base off Bubba Chandler, taking an away fastball into right field on the first pitch of the game. Kyle Schwarber, known for hitting home runs on a daily basis as of late, showed his plate disciple by working a full-count walk to put two runners on.
On a 3-1 count, Harper made Chandler pay on a red-zone fastball, driving it 457 feet into straightaway center field, putting the Phillies on top 3-0 before an out was even recorded.
While Schwarber demonstrated patience in the first inning, he showed his bat off in the second. Walks from J.T. Realmuto and Turner put two runners on base with two outs for the slugger. Schwarber laced a double down the right field line, scoring both runners on the play. Turner had originally held up at third on the play, but took advantage of a throwing error from right fielder Jared Triolo to score as Schwarber put on the team’s “DJ celly” at second base.
When Cristopher Sánchez set foot on the mound in the bottom of the first, he had a 3-0 lead. While he gained a few insurance runs along the way, one run would be all he needed to get the job done.
Sánchez mowed down Pirates batters left and right with efficiency, not allowing a base hit until Bryan Reynolds doubled in the bottom of the fourth.
In the seventh inning, Sánchez looked like he might have been slowing down, allowing a leadoff double to Konnor Griffin. After getting Reynolds to fly out to center field, Sánchez struck out the next two batters, reaching double digit strikeout on the day. The first of those strikeouts came against Marcell Ozuna, whom Sánchez struck out for the third time on the day.
Batting leadoff, Turner’s RBI opportunities are limited. In the top of the eighth, Crawford worked a two-out walk, putting a runner on for Turner.
Turner then slung a double into right field, allowing the speedy center fielder to score from first, increasing the Phillies’ lead to 6-0.
While the top of the order took care of business on Saturday, Crawford put together a strong day as well from the nine-hole. He reached base twice on walks, scored one run and tacked on his sixth stolen base of the year.
Having needed only 79 pitches through the first seven frames, Sánchez returned to the mound for the eighth inning. Allowing a leadoff single to Nick Gonzales, Sánchez struck out the next two batters, tying his career best with a dozen strikeouts on the day.
Crawford then made a diving play on liner by Henry Davis into left-center field, saving Sánchez’s shutout and letting him exit the inning unscathed.
With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Sánchez allowed back-to-back singles to Griffin and Reynolds, putting runners on the corners. With his pitch count eclipsing 100, Sánchez could see Tanner Banks warming up in the bullpen.
Sánchez won the battle against Ozuna, striking him out on a foul tip for Ozuna’s fourth strikeout of the day. The strikeout set Sánchez’s career-best for 13 on the day.
With the congregation of Phillies road-trippers at their feet, Sánchez closed the deal on the complete game shutout, working Nick Yorke into a 6-3 groundout for the final out.
After watching Sánchez, one would think that you have seen the best pitching you will see this weekend. Sunday afternoon, Zack Wheeler and Paul Skenes might say otherwise.
The marquee matchup of the weekend is set to begin at 1:35 p.m. as the Phillies attempt to go for the series sweep in Pittsburgh.
