PITTSBURGH -- Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez was dealing late Saturday afternoon at PNC Park and limited the Pirates to six hits in a 6-0 victory.
By completing his first game of the season, Sánchez’s active scoreless streak stands at 29 2/3 innings. He was tough from the start, retiring the first 11 hitters he faced before Bryan Reynolds doubled over the head of center fielder Justin Crawford in the fourth. Only five more Pirates reached after that, and only one got to third base.
Here’s how efficient Sánchez was: He threw 108 pitches without allowing a walk and struck out a career-high 13 batters. He confused the Pirates with his sinker, changeup and slider. The sinker was clocked at a max of 96.6 mph.
Sánchez was given run support starting in the first inning, when Bryce Harper swung at a 3-1 fastball from Pirates right-hander Bubba Chandler and hit a three-run dinger into the batter’s eye, located over the center-field wall.
Philadelphia added two more runs off Chandler an inning later. J.T. Realmuto scored on a double by Kyle Schwarber. On the same play, Trea Turner scored on a throwing error by right fielder Jared Triolo.
In the eighth with right-hander Justin Lawrence on the mound, Justin Crawford scored the last run of the game on a Trea Turner double. Crawford then preserved the shutout with a spectacular sliding catch to end the bottom of the eighth.