PHILADELPHIA -- There may be no better pitcher in the world than Cristopher Sánchez when he's throwing off the mound at Citizens Bank Park.
That's great news for the Phillies' postseason chase, although -- if they do qualify -- it may not help them much in the postseason itself. We’ll get to that part of it in a minute.
For now, the Phillies will gladly continue to take outings like the six innings of one-run ball Sánchez tossed in Monday night’s 6-5 win over the Marlins. Another good night for Sánchez proved to be a great night for the Phillies in the National League Wild Card race, as both the Padres and D-backs lost their respective games.
Philadelphia (68-58) retained possession of the second NL Wild Card spot, moving one game ahead of San Diego and two ahead of Arizona.
Sánchez, meanwhile, picked up his MLB-leading 16th win of the season. With seven projected starts remaining, he has a legitimate chance to become the Phillies’ first 20-game winner since Hall of Famer Roy Halladay in 2010 -- and just the third in the last 50 years (another Hall of Famer in Steve Carlton).
“It would be an honor to be in a position to get to 20 wins,” Sánchez said via interpreter Diego D’Aniello. “But my first goal is always to throw as many quality innings as I can for the team and always leave the team in a good position to win games whenever I'm out there on the mound.”
As it lines up right now, four of Sánchez’s final seven starts would come at home -- a place where he has a 1.42 ERA this season.
That isn't just dominant, it's bordering on historic. It's currently in line to be the second-lowest home ERA by any Phillies starter in a single season (minimum 10 starts), trailing only Grover Alexander's 1.20 ERA in 1915.
But it's not just Phillies history.
Along with that 1.42 ERA, Sánchez is 11-1 with 110 strikeouts in 15 starts at the Bank. The only pitchers in MLB history with double-digit wins, 100 strikeouts and a sub-1.50 ERA through their first 15 home starts of a season are Bob Feller (1946 Cleveland), Sandy Koufax (1963 Dodgers), Vida Blue (1971 A's), Dallas Keuchel (2015 Astros) and ... Sánchez.
This isn't just the product of a small sample size either.
Since the beginning of last season, Sánchez is 17-1 with a 1.68 ERA at home. During that same span, he's 12-8 with a 3.43 ERA on the road. Looking specifically at this season, Sánchez is 5-3 with a 4.07 ERA outside of Philadelphia.
While he's certainly had his share of gems on other mounds – it’d be hard to go an entire month without allowing a run otherwise – the last nine outings in which he’s allowed at least four runs have all come on the road.
And here's where that potentially becomes an issue.
Unless the Phillies chase down the Braves in the NL East (6 1/2 games back) or the Cubs for the top NL Wild Card spot (five games back), they would open the postseason with a best-of-three series played entirely on the road.
If the Phillies win that series, they would then play the first two games of the NL Division Series on the road -- with Sánchez presumably pitching in one of those two games.
Of course, the Phillies need to get there first.
Despite exiting with a three-run lead after six innings, Sánchez was nearly left with a no-decision after the Marlins immediately rallied upon his exit. They loaded the bases with two outs before Javier Sanoja ripped a ball down the right-field line that was initially called foul.
Miami challenged the call, and while it was overturned, it’s the discretion of the replay official to place the runners wherever it’s believed they would have reached had the correct call been made. The Marlins were awarded only two runs on the play, while Otto Lopez -- the potential tying run -- was sent back to third base.
"I wouldn't have been shocked if they gave it to them,” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said. “But I'm glad they didn't."
The Phillies quickly pulled back one of the runs in the bottom half when Derek Hill worked a bases-loaded walk.
“Every single win counts, as you can see in the standings right now,” said Hill, who also had an RBI single in the sixth. “Doesn't matter who you're playing, where you're playing -- all the wins are equally as important.”
And no matter who -- or where -- they’re playing, the Phillies will have all the confidence in Sánchez.
“He's elite. All of his pitches are elite,” Hill said. “I'm just glad I don't have to face him anymore.”