Credit: Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports
PHILADELPHIA — Cristopher Sanchez had been struggling since the All-Star break. He was leaving pitches up. He was getting hit around. His sinker was not effective.
It was happening enough to be a concern.
But then Phillies pitching coach Caleb Cotham noticed something – Sanchez was dropping his arm slightly on his delivery. He was much better when he was more over-the-top.
So, during Sanchez’ bullpen session on Thursday afternoon, they made a mechanical adjustment.
And what a difference it made.
Sánchez pitched his second complete game of the season, leading the Phillies to a 5-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Saturday night.
“He was dominant,” manager Rob Thomson said.
It was short, to the point, and quite accurate.
Sánchez faced two batters over the minimum, allowing two hits. The only blemish in his outing was a solo homer by Alex Call to lead off the fourth inning. Call hit a 1-1 slider into the front row seats in right-center field.
He recorded 15 ground ball outs, which is tied for the most by a Phillies pitcher in a single game since Statcast began tracking data in 2008. The only other pitchers to do it were Roy Halladay (twice), Kyle Kendrick and A.J. Burnett.
So… yeah, it’s been a while.
Sánchez (9-8) struck out four and did not issue a walk.
“I’m going to say that (the change in arm slot) was 95% (of it) but it wasn’t only because of that,” Sanchez said through an interpreter. “(But) thank you to the pitching coaches who saw that and told me you are lowering your arm a little bit. Let’s work on getting it back where it needs to be. Thanks to that we had the results that we did today.”
Sánchez was quite efficient. So much so that the game lasted just two hours and six minutes – the fastest game of the season at Citizens Bank Park.
He threw just 99 pitches to complete the game and joined Atlanta’s Max Fried and Toronto’s Kevin Gausman as the only pitchers in the majors to throw two complete games this season.
Catcher J.T. Realmuto knew early on that with the way Sanchez was pitching, that it could be a quick night.
“We got through three innings, and I felt like we were out there for five minutes on defense total,” Realmuto said. “It definitely happened quick. He just continued to pound the strike zone. He made them put the ball in-play early – and that’s a lineup that’s tough to get through. They usually battle and have long at bats. For him to be able to pitch so deep in the game with such a low pitch count, that’s impressive.”
Realmuto added that in this game, Sanchez was commanding his sinker on both sides of the plates – especially to right-handed hitters.
“When he can get his fastball in on righties it makes it so much harder for them to be able to sit on the change up and stay back on it,” Realmuto said. “He commanded the changeup great from the start but his ability to throw the fastball and command it on righties was the difference.”
The Phillies won their fourth straight and regained their spot atop the majors with the best record in baseball (73-50). They will go for a four-game sweep of the Nationals on Sunday.
Every player in Philadelphia's lineup had at least one hit except for Bryce Harper. Weston Wilson had two hits and a run scored and Nick Castellanos had two hits and an RBI.
It was Castellanos’ 30th multi-hit game of the season, and the 11th since the All-Star break. Those 11 are tied for second-most in the National League in that span.
After having a challenging time figuring out Washington starter Mackenzie Gore (7-11) in the first five innings, the Phillies got to him in the sixth with four runs on five hits.
Alec Bohm, Realmuto, Edmundo Sosa, and Johan Rojas all had RBI singles in the sixth inning.
Bohm previously extended his on-base streak to 34 games when he drew a walk in the fourth inning. He scored on a double by Castellanos.
HONORING MONTY
The Phillies honored their late owner, president, and CEO David Montgomery by placing him on their Wall of Fame, a tradition the organization began in 1978.
Several members of the Wall of Honor were present for the celebration as were other Phillies alumni as part of Alumni weekend, which is held every August.
As part of the ceremony, they renamed a portion of the center field wall after Montgomery, calling it “Monty’s Angle” because of how it juts into the field of play.
It was Montgomery’s idea to include that wall feature as a tribute to Connie Mack Stadium, the Phillies' home prior to Veterans Stadium. A permanent logo was unveiled on the wall by former Phillies centerfielder Doug Glanville to commemorate the name.
ROSTER MOVE
The Phillies selected the contract of LHP Tyler Gilbert from Triple-A Lehigh Valley and optioned RHP Tyler Phillips. To make room for Gilbert, they transferred RHP Spencer Turnbull (right lat strain) to the 60-day IL.
Gilbert, who threw a no-hitter in his first MLB start in 2021 with Arizona, was originally a Phillies draft pick in 2015, but never pitched for the team. He was traded to the Los Angels Dodgers prior to the 2020 season for outfielder Kyle Garlick.
After three seasons in Arizona, Gilbert signed with Cincinnati in February. He didn’t make the Reds and had an awful start to the season. The Phillies acquired him in May in a cash deal and Gilbert has been excellent in the bullpen for the Iron Pigs. He has 48 strikeouts and just six walks in 35 innings. He has a 2.06 ERA.
Phillips was a fun story for the past month, but the Lumberton, N.J. native and Bishop Eustace graduate hit a wall.
"I think his stuff was just kind of trending down a little bit." Thomson said. "I think it's due to fatigue. It's nothing that he's done wrong. I think the complete game and pitching on regular rest, which he's not used to, his innings were going up. I think it's just to give him a little bit of a reset here and pull back on him a little bit."
As for Turnbull, shifting him to the 60-day I.L. is merely a paper transaction. He has been on the I.L. for 52 days already and wasn’t expected back until September anyway. This transaction allowed the Phillies to select Gilbert’s contract without having to place a player on their 40-man roster on waivers.
ON DECK
The Phillies go for the four-game sweep of the Nationals on Sunday. RHP Taijuan Walker (3-4, 5.68) will square off against Washington RHP Jake Irvin (9-10, 3.72).
