PHILADELPHIA -- Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez was thrilled when he met Elmo outside the home clubhouse last week. But now, Sánchez has shifted all of his attention to Grover.
Grover Alexander, that is.
Sánchez extended his scoreless streak to 37 2/3 innings with eight spotless frames in Friday night's 1-0 loss to the Guardians at Citizens Bank Park. That is now the second-longest scoreless streak by a Phillies pitcher since 1893 (when the mound moved to its current distance), trailing only Alexander's 41-inning streak in 1911.
Sánchez's total surpasses the previous second-longest mark belonging to Cliff Lee, who went 34 consecutive innings without allowing a run in 2011. Sánchez also leaped some other notable Phillies in the process: Larry Andersen (32 2/3 innings), Turk Farrell (32 2/3), Hall of Famer Robin Roberts (32), Ranger Suarez (32) and Ken Heintzelman (32).
So, could Alexander be next?
Sánchez will have his sights set on the Hall of Famer in his next outing, which is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday against the Padres in San Diego (though the Phillies have not officially set their rotation beyond this weekend).
While the franchise mark is within reach next week, Sánchez still has a ways to go for the all-time record. That belongs to Dodgers legend Orel Hershiser, who went 59 straight innings without allowing a run in 1988.
Sánchez, though, is already making history.
He's now gone at least seven innings in each of his past four outings -- all of which have been scoreless. He's the first pitcher since Clayton Kershaw in 2015 to turn in four consecutive scoreless starts of at least seven innings apiece.
Beyond that, Sánchez has tallied 36 strikeouts over 32 innings in those past four outings. He's just the fourth pitcher since at least 1900 to tally at least 36 strikeouts and 32 scoreless innings over a span of 4 scoreless starts, joining Kershaw (2014 and '15), Ray Culp (1968) and Ed Walsh (1910).
In his latest gem, Sánchez did not allow a Guardians baserunner to even reach second base. Fresh off last Saturday's complete-game shutout against the Pirates, he struck out six and walked two while allowing four hits on 96 pitches this time around.
But with the Phillies equally as unable to generate any offense against Cleveland starter Gavin Williams, Sánchez’s bid for a second straight shutout came to an end when Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly turned a scoreless game over to Jhoan Duran to start the ninth inning. Duran allowed a homer to Kyle Manzardo that proved to be the difference.