Baseball players don’t get a lot of Saturdays off during the season. Cristopher Sánchez made sure that the Phillies bullpen got to enjoy a quiet day off. He also ensured that Dusty Wathan, subbing in for Don Mattingly (who was attending his son’s graduation), had a win in his first game as manager. He’s a generous fellow, and that generosity extends to his foes. He offers them as many strikeouts as they can carry.
The Phillies got off to a blazing start against Pittsburgh starter Bubba Chandler, with Trea Turner singling to right and Kyle Schwarber working the count full, then taking a pitch high for a walk. That brought Bryce Harper to the plate. He did just about everything yesterday, save for hitting a homer, and he came so close to doing that in the ninth of that thrilling affair that a referral to the replay room was needed to confirm that the ball had failed to break free of PNC Park’s verdant walls. Harper, not inclined to leave anything to chance this time around, knocked a four-seamer so far over the wall in center that no doubt was left. 3-0 Phillies before a single out was recorded.
The Buccos’ start, however, was less than boffo. Cristopher Sánchez struck out the first two Pirates, one looking, one swinging, then induced an easy groundout to conclude a thoroughly satisfying first frame for the visitors.
The second was no less satisfying. J.T. Realmuto got aboard via the free pass, as did Turner. Schwarber slapped a ball right up the first base line, scoring Realmuto; Turner scored when Pirates right fielder Jared Triolo made a throwing error (as both a Jared and a Phillies fan, my feelings on this are mixed).
The Pirates changed course as the fourth dawned, replacing Chandler with Evan Sisk, first baseman Ryan O’Hearn with Nick Yorke, then moving Triolo from right to first. Sisk walked Justin Crawford and allowed him to advance as far as third, but concluded the inning without allowing a run.
Meanwhile, Sánchez sent Bucco after Bucco to the brig. He allowed a two-out double to Bryan Reynolds in the fourth, but put Marcell Ozuna away to end the threat.
The fifth saw Alec Bohm double, and Sisk was pulled for Isaac Mattson to set up a righty-0n-righty matchup against Adolis García. The maneuver paid off, sending García down on strikes. Mattson pitched a scoreless sixth, too. The Pirates had stopped the bleeding, but still hadn’t found a way to score on Sánchez. And as the sixth closed, they still hadn’t.
Konnor Griffin knocked a Sánchez changeup right up the third base line for a leadoff double in the seventh. The Pirates thus threatened to seize some spoils from the Philadelphia coffers. But the mighty ship Sánchez is unsinkable. He induced a flyout from Reynolds, then struck out Ozuna and Yorke to ensure that Griffin stayed right where he was. A stranded runner on second isn’t quite Blackbeard’s severed head hanging at Chesapeake Bay, but it was nevertheless a powerful symbol of fear for the Pirates.
The Phillies returned to their run-scoring ways in the eighth. Pittsburgh reliever Justin Lawrence walked Justin Crawford, and a subsequent Turner double, bouncing around off the wall, gave the rookie plenty of time to score from first (not that he needs much of it, given his speed).
Sánchez came out for the eighth, and the Pirates once again put the leadoff runner on (Nick Gonzales, single). And once again, the Pirates went back to their dugout without a run to their name. Sánchez struck out the next two Pirates, bringing his total for the day to an even dozen. The next batter, Henry Davis, made loud contact as he sent a fly ball to center; against a slower fielder he would’ve had a run-scoring base hit. But Crawford is far from slow, and he chased down the ball for the out.
Sánchez took to the mound in the ninth, looking to finish his business. It took him one pitch to get the first out (groundout, Oneil Cruz). Griffin fought his way to a 3-2 count, then slapped a sinker through the left-side gap for a single. Reynolds followed his lead, sending a sinker up the first base line to put runners at the corners, one away. Ozuna went down on a foul tip, giving Sánchez a baker’s dozen of Ks, and a career high. Only Yorke separated Sánchez from the complete game shutout. He grounded to Turner, who hurled the ball to first, where it found Harper’s outstretched glove in time.
The CGSO is at risk of vanishing. Sánchez is doing yeoman’s work to get it off the endangered species list.
The Phillies, at 23-23, have reached .500 again. They’ll try to give themselves a winning record tomorrow, as Zack Wheeler takes on Paul Skenes at 1:35.
