PHILADELPHIA – Cristopher Sánchez allowed three runs in the third inning in his six-inning start vs. the Braves on Saturday.
It should’ve been zero.
But that’s how it goes for the Phillies, who lost 3-1. Sánchez allowed a two-out single to Drake Baldwin in the third, before Ozzie Albies hit a ground ball up the middle. Sánchez tried to catch it as hit hopped by, but he missed it. Fortunately, the ball was heading right to second baseman Edmundo Sosa.
Sosa scooped up the ball, then lost it. The ball flew into the air. Sosa tried to catch it with his right hand, but he smacked the ball away from the bag.
Baldwin was safe. Albies was safe.
“Sosa, I feel bad for him,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “He feels terrible. He didn’t think he had as much time as he did.”
The inning continued. Sánchez walked Matt Olson on four pitches to load the bases, then allowed back-to-back singles to Austin Riley and Mauricio Dubón to give the Braves a 3-1 lead. Dubón's bloop single to center field was catchable, but Brandon Marsh first broke back on the ball before running in.
The ball fell just feet in front of him.
Sánchez allowed eight hits, three unearned runs and one walk and struck out eight in six innings. He is 2-2 with a 1.59 ERA.
“It’s pretty hard, but we’ve got to keeping going,” Sánchez said via the team’s interpreter. “It’s just a part of this game. We’re going to get out of this rut.”