ANAHEIM -- Cristopher Sánchez has his sights set on bigger milestones than the one he reached on Saturday night in Anaheim.
He wants to win a World Series. He'd love to be the Phillies' first 20-game winner since Roy Halladay in 2010. He hopes to win a Cy Young Award at some point.
All of those things may happen -- some as soon as this year, even.
For now, though, Sánchez will take pride in putting together yet another 200-strikeout season. He reached the milestone for the second straight year by striking out the side in the fifth inning of the Phillies' 4-2 victory over the Angels.
“It feels great, it feels great,” Sánchez said via interpreter Diego D’Aniello. “I'm proud of back-to-back 200-strikeout seasons, but we just have to keep going. This doesn't end now.”
With their 12th win in their past 14 games, the Phillies (76-60) hold a four-game lead over both the Padres (72-64) and D-backs (73-65) for the second National League Wild Card spot. Philadelphia remains five games behind the Braves (81-55) in the NL East.
After giving up a leadoff single to Angels third baseman Denzel Guzman to start the fifth, Sánchez then struck out the next three batters -- Travis d'Arnaud, Wade Meckler and Zach Neto -- on just 10 pitches. Perhaps fittingly, Sánchez notched No. 200 with one of his trademark changeups, as Neto swung through a perfectly spotted pitch on the low-outside corner.
Sánchez reached the 200-strikeout mark for the first time last season en route to finishing with 212 punchouts. Needless to say, he's in prime position to blow past that total with nearly a full month left to play.
Sánchez became the 12th Phillies pitcher to record multiple 200-strikeout campaigns -- a list that includes three of his current teammates. Jesús Luzardo just reached 200 K's for the second straight season in his last outing, while Aaron Nola (five 200-K seasons) and Zack Wheeler (three) were already in the club.
Here's the full list of Phillies pitchers with multiple 200-K seasons:
• Carlton (seven seasons)
• Aaron Nola (five)
• Jim Bunning (four)
• Grover Alexander (four)
• Zack Wheeler (three)
• Cliff Lee (three)
• Cole Hamels (three)
• Luzardo (two)
• Roy Halladay (two)
• Curt Schilling (two)
• Chris Short (two)
Sánchez finished the night with eight strikeouts, while allowing just two hits and one walk over seven scoreless innings. That brought his season strikeout total to 202, leaving him just behind Luzardo (203). They trail only Jacob Misiorowski (222) among all National League pitchers.
Sánchez, however, did not make any progress in his quest for a 20-win season. He was saddled with a no-decision after Jonathan Bowlan allowed a game-tying homer to Neto with two outs in the eighth inning.
Sánchez had thrown only 91 pitches through seven innings, but he did not come back out for the bottom of the eighth after a lengthy top half that featured two replay reviews. With nearly 20 minutes having passed since Sánchez had thrown his last pitch, interim manager Don Mattingly turned things over to the 'pen.
“We made a joint decision,” Sánchez said. “He’s the manager and I respect him a lot, and I respect his decision. But it was a mutual decision to not go back out there.”
It took longer than they may have hoped, but the Phillies broke through for three runs in the top of the 10th for the victory.
In addition to Sánchez's third-ranked strikeout total, his 16 wins are the most in the NL, while his 2.52 ERA ranks fourth. He also ranks second in innings pitched (175 1/3). He's the only pitcher to rank among the top five in all four categories.
“I think you have to look at him as one of those guys; he's just not as sexy as some of the other guys,” Mattingly said. “He’s not throwing 100 [mph], 105 or whatever. He just keeps getting outs.”