Sánchez returns to business as usual with 10-K show vs. Toronto

TORONTO -- It wasn’t the scoreless start many have come to expect over the past several weeks, but Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez turned in another impressive outing on Monday night at Rogers Centre.

After surrendering his first earned run over the previous 50 2/3 innings against San Diego last Wednesday, Sánchez allowed two earned runs over seven innings in the series-opening 5-2 win against the Blue Jays.

Leading 5-0, Sánchez allowed the first run in the bottom of the third on a double off the bat of Myles Straw, followed by a pair of groundouts by Tyler Heineman and Yohendrick Piñango.

Ernie Clement then took an 0-1 fastball over the wall in left for a solo home run in the fifth to plate the second run.

It appeared as though the Blue Jays were on the verge of scoring for a third time after Piñango began the sixth with a double and ended up on third when right fielder Adolis García bobbled the ball. Sánchez proceeded to strike out George Springer, Nathan Lukes and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to escape the threat, emphatically pumping his fists on the way back to the dugout in celebration.

The Blue Jays pressured again in the seventh, putting runners on first and second with two out. Sánchez appeared to motion to manager interim Don Mattingly in an effort to stay in the game. He did, and the decision paid off, as he got Brandon Valenzuela to ground out to shortstop Trea Turner to end the inning on his 107th pitch of the night.

Sánchez allowed four hits, walked one and struck out 10. It was the fourth time Sánchez had reached double-digit strikeouts in a start this year.

“I don’t like leaving guys on base and I felt great today, even though I had close to 100 pitches,” Sánchez said postgame.

“A big thank you to the manager for trusting me with that, and I told him that after the game.”

With his latest performance, he also served as a stopper of sorts for a Phillies starting rotation that gave up 16 earned runs in a series win against the White Sox over the weekend.

Part of what’s made Sánchez so impressive is his ability to pitch deep into games. He’s now thrown at least seven innings in seven straight starts, dating back to May 5.

“I think it’s the pitch mix,” Sanchez said. “I try to play with them, what pitches they’re looking for. I try to play around with the pitches we use and the locations. Change their sights a little bit during the at-bats.”

Praising his rotation pregame, the effort was exactly what Mattingly has come to expect.

“There’s always a sense Cristopher is going to be on track,” Mattingly said.

“You feel like he’s going to go six or seven innings every time he gets the ball, and if he doesn’t you’re like, ‘Whoa.’”

Mattingly echoed his pregame praise after the win and said he felt good leaving Sánchez in during the seventh.

“Sanchey is easy to trust,” Mattingly said.

“It doesn’t matter who’s up there with him, you feel good about him in any situation.”

Offensively, the bats backed Sánchez with five runs on five hits, leaving him in line for his 8th win when he exited.

Brad Keller threw a scoreless eighth and Jhoan Duran nailed down his 16th save in as many opportunities to close out the victory.

Outfielder Adolis García put the Phillies ahead in the second inning with his seventh home run of the season off Blue Jays starter Patrick Corbin. It was his third homer in the last five games.

With who the Phillies had on the mound, García knew scoring runs early would give them a good chance to come away with a win.

“It’s really important for us to score as many runs as we can when we have Sanchey on the bump because he’s a great pitcher,” García said through translator Diego D’Aniello.

“Whenever we have him on the mound, the type of pitcher he is, it’s almost a sure win if we get him run support early.”