Cristopher Sánchez dazzles with 7 shutout goals in the series finale against the D-backs originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
A new contract and one of his best starts to the season; It’s safe to say that Cristopher Sánchez has had a good weekend.
Just one day after signing a four-year extension that runs through 2028, Sánchez pitched seven solid innings to lead the Phillies to a 4-1 victory and the club’s 16th victory of the season.
Sánchez’s command was at full strength during his seven scoreless innings. He allowed only three hits, struck out four and threw 80 pitches, 54 for strikes. After retiring the last 11 batters he faced, his ERA dropped to 2.67 for the season.
“He was brilliant today, he really was,” manager Rob Thomson said of his starter. “All of his pitches were working, he was throwing strikes, keeping people off balance. (The Diamondbacks are) a good offensive club there and predominantly right-handed. Just a masterful job.”
Thomson went on to credit catcher Garrett Stubbs’ performance behind the plate and how well the two combined on Sunday.
“I thought (Stubbs) did a great job with him,” he continued. “Stubby does a good job of using the secondary pitches early in the game and if he doesn’t have them, he keeps calling until, especially during the changeup, he gets it going and starts landing.
“It was really good work by both of them.”
It was almost an expected low-scoring effort after the offense exploded for 12 runs Saturday afternoon. Still, they finished the day with 11 hits for an NL-leading 51st victory.
Nick Castellanos’ RBI off Alec Bohm in the second inning was the 800th of his career.
Castellanos closed the series with four hits, two home runs and seven RBIs. In the month of June, the right fielder has recorded a hit in all but five of 19 games played. His batting average continues to rise and sits at a season-high .277.
Consecutive walks by Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh ended up biting the D-backs after a snag put them both in scoring position.
David Dahl singled on a line drive to right field, scoring both. He finished his day with two hits.
Bryce Harper started the seventh inning with a double. Bohm was then the fourth Phillies in the series to be hit by a pitch. It was a minor story throughout the series, but both teams were hit by pitches four times. Stott’s single to right scored Harper to give the Phillies one more insurance run.
José Alvarado threw a blank eighth after not having been used since June 17. The Diamondbacks’ only run was scored on a last-ditch effort in the ninth inning off Jeff Hoffman, when Ketel Marte singled to score Geraldo Perdomo.
Sanchez’s pitch count was only at that 80 mark when he finished his day, so was Thomson’s decision to pull him due to excessive heat or the opportunity to work some arms in the bullpen?
“A combination of all that. Very hot, (Sanchez) was sweating profusely,” he said. “He did a great job. Alvarado had five days off, Hoffman had four days off, so he wanted to get them some work. He was good all the way around.”
While the weekend has been excellent for Sánchez, he remains focused on what’s next.
“It’s incredible. Signing an extension yesterday and then leaving today,” Sánchez said through interpreter Diego Ettedgui. “But we have to keep going, we have to keep doing things well and keep competing.
The Phillies make a quick trip to Detroit for a three-game series against the Tigers before returning to Philadelphia to host the Marlins over the weekend.
Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez and Spencer Turnbull are scheduled to start in that order. This will be Turnbull’s first start since April 30 against the Angels. Before Sunday’s game, Taijuan Walker was placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to June 22), due to inflammation of the right index finger.
The Tigers have not announced their rotation at this time.
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