ANAHEIM -- The last time Cristopher Sánchez pitched, the Phillies staged one of the most improbable comebacks in franchise history to walk away with a victory.
But while that rally took Sánchez off the hook for what would have been his first loss since July 6, it came far too late for him to earn the victory himself. That leaves Sánchez at 16 wins entering Saturday night's start against the Angels at Angel Stadium.
Obviously, things could change down the stretch, but Sánchez is currently lined up to make six more starts beginning with the one on Saturday. The last of those six, however, would come in the penultimate game of the regular season, meaning the Phillies would likely pull him back if they're locked into a postseason spot.
Either way, Sánchez will have a legitimate shot to get to the 20-win milestone. He needs four more wins 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 recently 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.”
Sánchez could cross off a different milestone against the Angels, though.
He enters Saturday's outing just six strikeouts shy of reaching the 200-strikeout mark for a second consecutive season. Teammate Jesús Luzardo -- who just surpassed 200 strikeouts in his last outing -- has also reached the milestone each of the past two seasons.
Luzardo (203 strikeouts) and Sánchez (194) rank second and third among all NL pitchers, trailing only Milwaukee's Jacob Misiorowski (222).
Sánchez, meanwhile, is looking to become just the 12th Phillies pitcher with multiple 200-K seasons. He would join:
• Carlton (seven seasons)
• Aaron Nola (five)
• Jim Bunning (four)
• Grover Alexander (four)
• Zack Wheeler (three)
• Cliff Lee (three)
• Cole Hamels (three)
• Luzardo (two)
• Roy Halladay (two)
• Curt Schilling (two)
• Chris Short (two)