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, one more run than he had permitted 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.
“I think it wasn't bad at all,” Sánchez said through a translator after the Phillies rallied for a 6-4 walk-off win at Citizens Bank Park. “The only thing that bothered me a little is that maybe a couple routine plays that I could have made, I didn't. It cost me a couple runs.”
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 scoreless 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, while he and Boston’s Sonny Gray remain the Majors’ only 16-game winners.
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.
“Usually I control the runners pretty well,” Sánchez said. “So I was bothered a little bit because they took those two bases quite easily.”
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 runs or fewer.
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 the Cardinals’ lead to four while leaving two runners on base for Tim Mayza, who loaded the bases before escaping the jam.
“I thought Sanchy was really good today,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “I know he gives up four, but two hits, he gets the little dribbler that turns into a run. I thought he was really good today; held his stuff, seemed easy, didn't seem like he was having to spend a bunch of effort. The ball was coming out easy, so I was really happy about that.”
Sánchez was also really happy after watching his teammates mount a six-run rally in the ninth, overcoming the four-run deficit. He was in the clubhouse watching as Kyle Schwarber’s two-run walk-off home run settled in Ashburn Alley, sending him into a state of euphoria as the Phillies’ winning streak reached nine.
“The important thing is to win and we won; I'm a little more relaxed now,” Sánchez said. “It's incredible, but that's who we are. That's who we are, so I’m not really surprised.”