Sanchez pitches a gem to send Phillies to All-Star break on top of NL East originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
SAN DIEGO — Phillies pitcher Christopher Sanchez going out and pitching a gem against the San Diego Padres was about as surprising as the weather being 72 and sunny at Petco Park to begin the game. Both are so expected and neither failed in producing as Sanchez kept his magical season rolling with 7.1 strong innings of work in a 2-1, series finale win for the Phillies.
Sanchez has now allowed just 14 earned runs over his past 10 starts, amounting to 65.2 innings for a 1.92 ERA during that time. He finishes the pre All-Star break at 8-2 with a 2.50 ERA.
While Major League Baseball disrespected Sanchez with an All-Star snub, the Padres showed the lefthander the ultimate respect in the first inning when after Fernando Tatis Jr. led off with a single to right, they had Luis Arraez bunt Tatis Jr. over to second. That’s saying something, as Arraez is a lifetime .318 hitter. Sanchez did struggle through the inning with a pair of walks but got out of the jam by striking out Jose Iglesias with a nasty changeup on his 19th pitch of the frame.
“All the experience that we’ve gotten and how we’re working out and the preparation we do before games I think is what’s put us in this spot,” said Sanchez. “We’ve been able to perform better in those spots, too. Staying healthy, having those numbers and most important is helping the team win. That’s the most important thing right now.”
A microcosm of the game came about in the eighth inning with the score tied, 1-1. The Phillies sent up their two, three and four hitters (Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos) against Padres’ left handed reliever, and All-Star, Adrian Morejon. The Padres sent their same part of the lineup against the Phils in the bottom of the inning.
After Turner lined out to center, Harper doubled down the leftfield line. David Morgan replaced Morejon and Castellanos struck out on a 3-2 pitch way out of the strike zone. J.T. Realmuto then laced a double to left-center to knock in Harper and take a 2-1 lead.
Sanchez returned in the eighth to face Luis Arraez, whom he got on a liner to first to end his day. Orion Kerkering then came in and allowed a single to Manny Machado, threw a wild pitch to allow him to second before walking Xander Bogaerts. Kerkering recovered nicely by getting both Jackson Merrill and Jose Iglesias to fly out to center.
It was a very small battle among many of late for the Phillies, who struggled mightily in times just like that one, particularly on this six-game road trip. But the Phillies won it and it helped them finish the road trip with their second win in six games, putting them a half-game ahead of the Mets in the East.
“In the last at-bats for both those guys (Machado and Bogaerts) it looked like they were seeing him pretty good,” said Thomson of removing Sanchez after 86 pitches. “I just decided to go to Kerk.
“I’m just so proud of (Sanchez) from where he started and where he’s at right now. Not just stuff, but command, poise and composure. He gets through the first inning there. When we first had him he’s not getting through that first inning, it might affect the rest of his innings. Now he’s learned to slow the game down, able to handle adversity, keep grinding and keep pitching.”
Catcher J.T. Realmuto played a huge part in the team climbing to 55-41 on the season. In the bottom of the seventh he threw an absolute dart to Trea Turner to get Tatis Jr. on a steal attempt to end the inning. Then in the eighth, his double scored Harper from second for the game-winning run. Realmuto finished the day 2-for-4 and is now 11 for his last 25 at the plate.
“I thought I had a chance at him,” Realmuto downplayed his throw. “I knew it would take a quick throw.”
It did and it was. As for his turnaround at the plate, it’s not all that complicated.
“Just trying to get good pitches and put the barrel on the ball,” he said. “Simplify my approach and just do less really. That’s what it comes down to.”
As the music blared in the clubhouse and families waited outside of it so that this mini vacation can begin for them, Thomson had just one rule for his club. “I just think everybody needs a break right now,” he said. “I just think we’ve been grinding. There haven’t been many games where you felt really comfortable. Everything’s been a close game, whether we’re down, we’re up. I think everybody just needs a little break. The only thing I tell them is to move around a little bit. Pitchers play catch, some of the guys I know are going to do bullpens. Just move around a little bit. Just don’t lay around for four days and get stiff.”
