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. He now has a 1.42 ERA at home 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 (7 1/2 games back entering Monday) 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.
That's a bridge the Phillies would be happy to cross if they come to it.