PHILADELPHIA -- By the time Cristopher Sánchez walks off the mound following Wednesday night's start against the Padres at Citizens Bank Park, he could realistically have the third-longest scoreless streak in the Live Ball Era.
As it stands now, Sánchez's 44 2/3-inning scoreless streak is the longest in franchise history. It's also the seventh longest in a single season in the Live Ball Era (since 1920). But with just three more scoreless frames, he would leap over everyone except Orel Hershiser and Don Drysdale.
Here's a look at who he's chasing:
1. Orel Hershiser: 59 IP (1988)
2. Don Drysdale: 58 IP (1968)
3. Bob Gibson: 47 IP (1968)
4. Zack Greinke: 45 2/3 IP (2015)
5. Carl Hubbell: 45 1/3 IP (1933)
6. Sal Maglie: 45 IP (1950)
7. Cristopher Sánchez: 44 2/3 (2026)
However, if Manny Machado hits another ball the same way he hit one last Wednesday in San Diego, Sánchez's historic scoreless streak will be over.
When Sánchez faced the Padres last week at Petco Park, the left-hander needed to complete four innings to break the record for the longest scoreless streak in Phillies history. Just three outs shy of history, however, Machado led off the fourth inning with a towering blast to left field.
Phillies left fielder Edmundo Sosa retreated all the way to the wall and kept looking up as if he might not have a chance to catch it ... until the ball settled into his glove for a 356-foot flyout.
Sánchez exhaled. He went on to finish off the inning unscathed -- and then, a few more.
“There were a couple hits that I thought were gone off the bat,” Sánchez said after throwing seven innings. “But, thank God they weren’t.”
Well, there's a good reason Sánchez felt that way.
According to Statcast, Machado's blast would have been a home run in three ballparks: Boston's Fenway Park, Houston's Daikin Park and ... Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park.
Two innings later, Machado ripped another deep shot -- this one to right-center field -- that required center fielder Justin Crawford to make a leaping catch on the warning track. That one traveled a Statcast-projected 399 feet and would have been a home run in 16 ballparks (though not Citizens Bank Park).
“We had him, dude,” Machado said afterward. “We had really good at-bats. Overall, great at-bats. Just a better pitcher.”
To be fair, Sánchez was a better pitcher than everyone in May.
Over his five starts last month, the left-hander racked up 45 strikeouts and walked only three batters over 39 scoreless innings. In doing so, Sánchez joined Hershiser (September 1988) as the only true starters in MLB history to record an entire scoreless month (minimum four starts).
Now, it's time to see what Sánchez has in store for June.