This group is solely concerned with team success, but the Phillies have already accumulated individual awards with 11 games remaining before the All-Star break.
MLB announced Wednesday morning that the Phillies won both National League monthly honours — Bryce Harper as Player of the Month and Cristopher Sanchez as Pitcher of the Month.
Harper now has won it for the second month in a row, after never winning it before.
The Phillies have also won the pitching award twice in the last three months. It went to Ranger Suarez in April. It’s quite impressive given that they’re essentially the team’s third and fourth starters behind Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola.
“Harp had a fantastic month, and winning back-to-back doesn’t happen very often,” manager Rob Thomson remarked. “But Sanchy, it makes me happy to watch him win Pitcher of the Month because he’s come a long way. He’s a fantastic person. He has worked hard. He surely deserved it.
Thomson gathered the squad pregame Tuesday afternoon to deliver the news. Their reaction to the Sanchez segment sounded like something from a television show.
“Obviously there was an ovation for Harp, I started with Harp, and then I went to Sanchy and the place just erupted,” according to him. “They understand how far he’s come and the effort he’s put in. “They appreciate it.”
Sanchez made five starts in June and finished 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA and 0.82 WHIP. He did not allow a home run and has only been hit deep once in 93⅓ innings this season. The Phillies inked him to a four-year, $22.5 million contract extension less than two weeks ago, and he has answered with seven spotless innings against the Diamondbacks and a three-hit shutout against the Marlins.
“Just his humility, really,” Thomson remarked. “For example, when I pull in, I stop and talk to the guy at the guard shack at CBP, and he told me once that Cris Sanchez comes in every day and stops to say hello and talk to me. That definitely tells me a lot about him.
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Sanchez’ main rival for the monthly award was Paul Skenes, the Pirates rookie who pitched to a 1.78 ERA in June with 40 strikeouts and 30⅓ innings.
Harper outperformed Shohei Ohtani. Harper batted.374 with a 1.166 OPS, ten doubles, seven home runs, and sixteen RBIs. Ohtani hit.293 with a 1.110 OPS, four doubles, twelve home runs, and twenty-four RBI. There would not have been an incorrect answer.
Harper also knows he’ll start at first base for the National League in the All-Star Game. He had already established his position as the #1 vote-getter in the NL during Phase 1 of fan voting. He is expected to be joined in the starting lineup by teammates Trea Turner and Alec Bohm. All-Star starters will be announced Wednesday night at 7 p.m. ET.
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