Cristopher Sanchez Pulls Off Phillies feat Unseen Since 1911
The Phillies were a mess about a month ago when they opted to replace Rob Thomson with Don Mattingly in the managerial seat.
At the time of the change, Cristopher Sanchez was hardly at fault since his ERA was 2.94 after allowing six runs and 12 hits in 5 1/3 innings at Wrigley Field three days before the change.
Now, Sanchez is among the centerpieces of Philadelphia's turnaround into playoff contention with a 44 2/3 inning scoreless streak. It is a run not seen on the Phillies since Grover Alexander threw 41 straight scoreless innings in a season when he won 28 games, threw 367 innings in 48 games and faced nearly 1,500 batters.
How has Cristopher Sanchez pitched 44 2/3 scoreless innings?
A simple answer might be limiting baserunners and getting strikeouts.
Sanchez has not allowed a run since giving up an RBI single by San Francisco's Casey Schmitt on April 30. Following Schmitt's hit, Sanchez allowed four other baserunners.
During his five starts in May, Sanchez faced 143 hitters and struck out 45, joining Chris Sale as the second pitcher in MLB history to get 45 strikeouts without allowing a run in a five-start span. In those encounters, Sanchez allowed 25 hits, walked three, hit one batter and did not see his defense allow anyone to reach via error.
He also has limited chances with runners in scoring position. In his past five starts, opponents went 0-for-27 with runners in scoring position and in the one game he did not win Cleveland did not have an at-bat in that spot and won via a ninth-inning homer by Kyle Manzardo.
Surviving hard-hit balls is helping. On Wednesday in San Diego, Sanchez permitted eight hard-hit balls hit at least 95 mph, including four flyouts to travel at least 325 feet.
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He gave up 11 apiece in his previous two starts to Cleveland and Pittsburgh and has allowed 30 hard-hit balls in his past five starts.
"We had him, dude," Manny Machado told reporters Wednesday afternoon "We had really good at-bats. Overall, great at-bats. Just a better pitcher."
So good, in fact, that he's now mentioned in the same breath with Alexander, who pitched seven seasons for the Phillies on his way to 373 career victories, tying him for third all time, behind Cy Young and Walter Johnson.
How Cristopher Sanchez emerged for the Phillies
Sanchez was still coming off a respectable season at Single-A in Nov. 2019 when the Phillies acquired him in a quiet trade from Tampa Bay for current Washington Nationals infielder Curtis Mead.
The Phillies did not get a look at Sanchez's capabilities until 2021, when he was moved to Triple-A and made seven appearances for the last group to miss the playoffs in Philadelphia.
Sanchez was still an unknown arm in 2022 when he posted a 5.63 ERA in 15 appearances. By 2023, he was getting more innings and produced a .148 average against his changeup while contributing 99 1/3 innings and getting a start in the NLCS.
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It has been the past two seasons where Sanchez has really emerged and his performance has been so effective it netted him a $107 million, six-year contract late in spring training.
In 2024, he was 11-9 with a 3.32 ERA and permitted a .177 average on the changeup. Last season, Sanchez was even more dependable by going 13-5 with a 2.50 ERA in 202 innings while also producing a .170 average on the changeup, resulting in a second-place finish to Paul Skenes in the NL Cy Young voting.
Sanchez holds the unique distinction of not throwing a four-seam fastball, relying on sinkers, changeups and sliders. In his career, only four of his pitches are labeled as four-seamers and none since 2023.
He also is dominating with his changeup while hitters are batting .319 off the sinker and .263 off the slider.
He's been really good for quite a long time now," Phillies shortstop Trea Turner told reporters. "When you're that consistent, you're going to start putting your name up there with those other guys. This is a very historic franchise, so any time you be at the top of something here, I think it's pretty special. He deserves it."
Who has longer scoreless streaks than Sanchez?
The major league record for a scoreless streak was set by Orel Hershiser late in the 1988 season when the Dodgers won a surprise World Series title. Hershiser threw 59 scoreless innings from Aug. 30-Sept. 28, 1988 and eclipsed Don Drysdale's 1968 streak by one inning.
Sanchez currently owns the 11th-longest scoreless streak in major league history and seventh in the live ball era since 1920. If he pitches a scoreless first inning next week, Sanchez will match Cy Young (1904 Boston Red Sox), Doc White (1904 Chicago White Sox) and Sal Maglie (1950 New York Giants).
If Sanchez pitches seven scoreless innings, he will be up to 51 1/3 scoreless innings or 4 1/3 ahead of Bob Gibson's 1968 run during his 1.12 ERA season in the year of the pitcher. That will put him right behind the 53 scoreless innings set by Jack Coombs with the A's in 1910 and the 55 2/3 scoreless frames set by Walter Johnson with the Washington Senators in 1913.
Eventually the streak will end, but the run is certainly enjoyable for the Phillies, who now own a good chance at playing postseason games for the fifth straight season.
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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 10:34 AM.