Cristopher Sánchez was at 92 pitches when he mounted the dugout steps and jogged to the mound in the ninth inning. The audience that gathered at Citizens Bank Park for a fireworks display celebrated the Phillies’ newest superstar.
He fired a 0-2 changeup in the dirt for a swinging strike three to clinch the Phillies’ third shutout of the season. As catcher Garrett Stubbs approached the mound, the normally silent Sánchez slammed his glove and roared.
It was an emotional day for the Phillies. The team awoke worried about the status of its two greatest hitters, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber. They eventually received positive news—both will be returning sooner rather than later—but it will hurt in the short term.
Sánchez has been in the Phillies rotation for 377 days, beginning with a four-inning, one-hit start in Oakland, and the metamorphosis has been astounding. He was the Phillies’ fifth starter a year ago, and now he’s signed until 2030 and appears to be a rising star.
“I’m so proud of this kid because he’s come so far,” an emotional Rob Thomson exclaimed. “Now he’s a dominant pitcher, really, in major league baseball.”
Sánchez brags. He’s pitched at least seven innings in three straight starts. He surpassed his career record of 7 1/3 innings, going nine scoreless to lead his team to a 2-0 victory.
He has transformed his weaknesses into strengths. Can’t throw a strike? He went behind 1-0 to only six of the 29 hitters he faced and entered the game with two-thirds of his pitches for strikes. Gives up too many home runs? So far this season, he has only allowed one, a left-field wall-scraper at Anaheim back in April.
Some feared Sánchez’s command would deteriorate as he regained velocity, but he reached 97 mph in the eighth inning with a pitch that dotted the inside corner to a right-handed batter. If Sánchez remains healthy, he might challenge for the Cy Young Award alongside colleagues Ranger Suárez and Zack Wheeler.
His changeup is one of the most destructive weapons in baseball, but Stubbs felt the slider was effective, especially as the game progressed. He threw seventeen sliders. Opposing hitters swung at 13 of them, missing six.
“When hitters have to think about three different pitches and the way that he can locate,” Stubbs responded. “He was just incredibly efficient in getting guys out, getting ground balls.”
The start caps off a remarkable month of June, which began with a phone call to Dave Dombrowski about a new deal and ended with his first complete-game shutout and a 1.64 ERA across five starts. He is the only Phillies pitcher since Cliff Lee in June 2011 to have that low ERA and allow zero home runs in a single calendar month (minimum five starts). No stretch of Phillies baseball will ever match Lee’s three straight complete-game shutouts at the end of June 2011, but Sánchez’s performance was an appropriate tribute.
As our own Tim Kelly pointed out, Sánchez currently leads the National League in FanGraphs WAR among pitchers with 3.1. His season ERA of 2.41 is second only Luis Suárez among eligible National League pitchers. Wheeler is third, with 2.73.
“He’d be a one on a lot of teams,” Thomson explained.
An All-Star selection might be next.
“Unbelievable pitcher,” Stubbs stated. “Also, a genuinely good guy. “So easy to root for.”
“Nothing’s impossible,” Sánchez stated through interpreter Diego D’Aniello. “You are capable of accomplishing your goals. You simply need to concentrate and work extremely hard on it.”
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