SAN DIEGO (AP) After not allowing a single run for the entire month of May and shattering a franchise record that had stood for 115 years, Philadelphia left-hander Cristopher Sánchez celebrated passionately, pumping his fists after securing the final out of a historic game.
On Wednesday, Sánchez stretched his scoreless streak to 44 2/3 innings, breaking the Phillies’ all-time mark previously held by Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander in a 3-0 victory over the San Diego Padres, completing a three-game sweep.
Sánchez achieved the milestone by completing the four full innings necessary to surpass Alexander, who recorded a 41-inning scoreless run in 1911. He then continued for three more scoreless frames before exiting after 100 pitches. He gave up six hits, struck out nine, and issued no walks.
He left the game with a 2-0 lead, celebrating with fist pumps after striking out pinch-hitter Ty France to close out the seventh inning.
“I just went out to compete and give the best of myself,” he said via an interpreter.
Despite feeling he didn’t have his sharpest stuff, he overwhelmed a Padres lineup that went 0-for-20 with runners in scoring position, stranded 19 baserunners over the series, and struck out 32 times.
Interim manager Don Mattingly noted that the team acknowledged the record afterward, and Sánchez addressed his teammates.
“I just told them it was something special for me,” Sánchez said. “First I thanked God, and then I thanked all my teammates and everyone around me for their support. It’s really special to have their support, in the good times and through the rough times as well. That’s something I admire about this group.
“This game isn’t only about me or what I do on the mound it’s about our group, and I think it’s truly special and beautiful to feel the support of the whole team,” he added.
With Sánchez one inning away from the record, a tense moment arose when Manny Machado lifted a fly ball to left that Edmundo Sosa caught just shy of the wall to lead off the fourth. Sánchez then struck out Xander Bogaerts, allowed a double to left by Ramón Laureano, and got Jackson Merrill to ground out to second base to seal the record.
Machado had homered in Tuesday’s 4-3 Phillies win.
The Padres left runners in scoring position in the first and second innings, and Gavin Sheets flied out just short of the right-field warning track to end the third.
“There were a couple of hits I thought were gone off the bat, but thank God they weren’t,” Sánchez said.
Center fielder Justin Crawford made a nice running grab of Machado’s fly ball with one out in the sixth, crashing into the padded wall to prevent an extra-base hit.
Sánchez’s scoreless stretch dates back to the second inning of the first game of an April 30 doubleheader against San Francisco.
He also set another franchise record by tossing at least seven scoreless innings for the fifth consecutive start, becoming just the sixth pitcher in MLB history to do so.
Additionally, he now owns the longest single-season scoreless innings streak by a left-hander in the Expansion Era, surpassing former Los Angeles Dodgers great Clayton Kershaw, who had a 41-inning scoreless run in 2014.
“You just don’t expect him to give up any runs,” said Mattingly, who managed Kershaw with the Dodgers in 2014. “I thought he was a little rough early. I don’t know if this thing was on his mind at all—he knew he had to get through four. He seemed to settle down more after that.
“He’s been amazing. It just seems like every time out, no matter the team or the opponent, he just keeps going.”
Leave a Reply