PHILADELPHIA -- Through his first four starts in August, Cristopher Sánchez had been close to unhittable this month.
That was until Sunday, when the Cardinals used both small ball and a big blast to get to the Phillies left-hander.
Sánchez allowed four runs on nine hits over 6 2/3 innings, more runs than the three he had given up in his first four starts this month. He struck out seven and did not issue a walk, departing the game with the Phillies trailing, 4-0.
Sánchez took the mound Sunday looking to become the Majors’ first 17-game winner of 2026, facing the Cardinals for the second time in two weeks. He took a no-decision on Aug. 11 despite throwing six shutout innings in St. Louis.
That outing marked the only time in Sánchez’s past seven starts that he didn’t register a win; he was 6-0 with a 2.18 ERA during that stretch. His 2.51 ERA entering Sunday was tied with Cincinnati’s Chase Burns for the third-lowest among all National League pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched, trailing only Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski (1.68) and Atlanta’s Chris Sale (2.20). Sánchez’s ERA now stands at 2.62.
Sánchez got off to a rocky start, as JJ Wetherholt reached on an infield single on the first pitch of the game, then immediately stole second base to put a runner in scoring position. Sánchez struck out Iván Herrera and retired Jordan Walker on a fly ball to right field, but Alec Burleson drove in Wetherholt with a single to center, extending his hitting streak to 10 games.
Sánchez settled in by retiring the next seven batters, but the Cardinals repeated their recipe for success in the fourth. This time, Walker reached on an infield hit and swiped second base, scoring on Burleson’s second RBI hit of the day.
St. Louis’ third run was another story altogether, as José Fermín launched a solo home run to left field on an 0-2 sinker from Sánchez. Fermín’s blast was only the third home run allowed by Sánchez over his past eight starts, snapping a four-start streak of holding opponents to two or fewer runs.
Sánchez retired six of the next seven Cardinals to get through the sixth, coming back out for the seventh with 86 pitches. He got two quick outs before allowing three straight singles, pushing St. Louis' lead to four while leaving two runners on base for Tim Mayza, who loaded the bases before escaping the jam.
Sánchez remains tied with Boston’s Sonny Gray as the Majors' only 16-game winners.