Sánchez not slowing as season's end nears

WASHINGTON -- Aníbal Sánchez made his Major League debut on June 25, 2006, as the starting pitcher for the Marlins. Sixteen years later, the 38-year-old right-hander took the mound for his 339th career start against that very club.

“I think every day that I see my jersey with my number, I feel like, ‘Wow, I’m still in the game,’” Sánchez said.

Sánchez threw six frames on Sunday, his second-highest inning total of the season. He allowed four hits, two runs, two walks, one home run and recorded three strikeouts across 94 pitches in the Nats’ 3-1 loss.

While the matinee was dominated by NL Cy Young candidate Sandy Alcantara's complete game, Sánchez’s performance gave the Nationals opportunities to come back.

“Aníbal was really good,” said manager Dave Martinez. “He fell behind a few times, but he got back into counts [and] he made pitches. He kept us in the ballgame, which was really nice.”

For some pitchers, innings count and workloads decrease toward the end of the season. But for Sánchez, who spent half the year recovering from a cervical nerve impingement, he isn’t looking to slow down in the final weeks.

Sánchez has limited opponents to two runs or fewer in his past six outings, dating back to Aug. 18. That is the third-longest streak of his career, and the longest since April 26-June 8, 2014, with the Tigers. He also has posted a 2.10 ERA over his past seven starts.

“This is my second month pitching in the season, and I’ve started feeling better -- especially with my command, all that kind of stuff,” he said. “I feel good. My arm is still healthy, and I need to keep going.”

Sánchez, who sat out in 2021, would like to continue pitching next season. Martinez believes his righty has more left to give, too.

“He’s very smart,” Martinez said. “He takes care of his body really well. This guy works hard every single day. If he continues to pitch like that -- you know he’s not going to throw 94, 95 [mph] anymore, but he pitches. In this league sometimes, all you’ve got to do is make good pitches and he’s been doing that. For four or five starts now, he’s been really effective.”

Sánchez’s six innings against his former team increased his Major League total to 2,007 2/3. He surpassed the 2,000-frame milestone in his previous start last Sunday against the Phillies, joining Zack Greinke, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Adam Wainwright, Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and David Price as the only active pitchers to do so.

Nearly 800 of those innings were tallied while Sánchez started his career with the Marlins. As he faced Miami on Sunday as a World Series-winning veteran with a sprawling resume, did it feel like 16 years had passed since he tossed his first frame in a Marlins uniform?

“Probably more,” Sánchez replied with a laugh.