Sánchez turning the page after misplays mar start against Giants

SAN FRANCISCO -- Cristopher Sánchez didn’t help himself on Tuesday night, but he deserved better anyway.

He wasn’t his Cy Young-caliber self in the Phillies’ 6-0 loss to the Giants at Oracle Park. He allowed 11 hits in five-plus innings, the second-most hits he had allowed in his career. He allowed eight hits with two strikes. He had never allowed more than five two-strike hits in a game.

“I don’t feel really good right now,” Sánchez said via the team’s interpreter. “In my second outing, it was four walks. Today, I allowed 11 hits. I got them to two strikes, but I couldn’t put them away. I lost every at-bat with two strikes today.

“But I’m not worried about it. I don’t worry too much about it. I know what I have to do to get back on track.”

Even then, Sánchez carried a 1-0 deficit into the fifth inning, when he allowed a leadoff single to Daniel Susac. Jared Oliva followed with a ground ball to Phillies shortstop Trea Turner. It should have been a double play, but Turner lost the ball as he tried to exchange it from his glove to his throwing hand.

Both runners were safe.

Rafael Marchán, who replaced J.T. Realmuto in the second inning when Realmuto took a foul ball off his foot, picked off Oliva at first base for the first out. Sánchez got Willy Adames to pop out for the second out.

Sánchez was almost out of another jam, but Matt Chapman smashed a line drive toward the left-field wall. It was a rocket, leaving his bat at 111.7 mph. Otto Kemp is not a left fielder by trade. He has spent most of his professional career at third base, but the Phillies are playing him in left because they like his bat and they think he can catch enough baseballs to justify it.

But Kemp hesitated for a moment before taking a step to his left, only to break back once he realized the ball was well struck.

Kemp made a desperate leap to catch the ball at the last second, but it sailed over his glove.

“In hindsight, I wish I would have tried to beat the ball to the spot to have a better chance to make that play, rather than trying to time the jump up,” Kemp said. “But, yeah, it’s another play that I can learn from. Just try and keep it in the back of my mind. You know that if a ball is hit hard like that, just try and beat it to the spot. If you can’t get it, just play it off the wall.”

Susac scored to make it 2-0. Luis Arraez's’s single to right-center field scored Chapman to make it 3-0. It was more than enough for Giants left-hander Robbie Ray, who tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings. The Phillies are batting .158 with a .510 OPS against all lefties this year.

“Obviously, we’ve got to get better,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.

Kemp has misplayed three balls in left field this year. He entered the game with -2 defensive runs saved, which tied for second-to-last out of 81 left fielders in baseball.

Unfortunately for Kemp, he hasn’t been able to make up for those moments with his bat. He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts on Tuesday. He is batting .091 (1-for-11) with six strikeouts and a .258 OPS.

He will continue to get opportunities for now, with Thomson saying he isn’t concerned about Kemp’s confidence

“I’m trying to stay sharp as much as I can,” Kemp said. “I’m trying to challenge myself in the cage and make sure that my timing is there. … It’s a little bit of a challenge, but we’ll be all right. It’s still early. I feel good about where we’re at [offensively]. I think we’re on the right track and we’ll get to where we need to be.”

Sánchez allowed a couple of hits to start the sixth inning before leaving the game, falling one short of the career-high 12 hits he allowed on Aug. 12, 2024, in Arizona.

“These are just bad days, and these days happen throughout the course of the season,” Sánchez said. “This is a long season, and it’s just starting.”