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May 27, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sanchez (61) celebrates after pitching during the seventh inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
It may have looked like an innocent groundball to second base to end an inning, but the 79.5 MPH easy roller off of the bat of Jackson Merrill that was gloved by Bryson Stott and thrown to Bryce Harper at first will prove to be historic. That’s because it was with that scoreless fourth inning, Cristopher Sánchez cemented himself in history by breaking the Phillies franchise all-time record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched with 41.2 innings, passing the 41-inning mark set by Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1911.
But Sánchez wasn’t done there, as he fired off seven scoreless innings to power the Phillies to a 3-0 win and a sweep over the Padres in San Diego, establishing another Phillies record with five consecutive starts of at least 7 scoreless innings and pushing his overall streak to 44 2/3 innings. Trea Turner homered for the second time in as many days and collected another RBI with a groundout to lead the offense behind Sánchez.
Not even his best day
Ironically enough, it did not look like Sánchez had his best stuff today. He allowed an infield single to Fernando Tatis Jr. to begin his day and Tatis quickly stole second, giving Sánchez more runners in scoring position than in his entire last start. He was able to erase that runner by getting Miguel Andujar to groundout thanks to a good pick on a low throw from Harper at first before collecting a strikeout and a pop up to end the inning.
The second inning brought more traffic for Sánchez to handle after back-to-back strikeouts to begin. Merrill punched a broken bat single into left before old friend Nick Castellanos followed with another single to left, moving Merrill to third. Sánchez then fell behind the nine-hole hitter Freddy Fermin 3-1 but was able to get him to groundout to Bohm on a good sinker to end the threat after 27 pitches in the inning.
The third was much easier, even if it did feature a scare and a near end to the streak. Sánchez struck out Tatis and Andujar to begin the frame but then allowed a towering fly ball to Gavin Sheets that died just short enough of the wall for it to fall harmlessly into the glove of Adolis Garcia in right field. However, the fourth inning started with another scare, as Manny Machado looked to have ripped a home run to left, but the ball came back and was caught just shy of the wall by Edmndo Sosa after traveling 356 feet. Ramón Laureano added a two out double in the inning, but advanced no further after Merrill grounded out to give Sánchez the record.
Not done yet
Sánchez had more in store though, as he threw another three scoreless innings to bring his total for the day to seven and his total for his streak to 44 2/3. He allowed six hits, walked none, and struck out nine on 100 pitches exactly.
It was his fifth straight start of at least 7 scoreless innings, giving him another Phillies record.
Sánchez made five starts in the month of May, totaling 39 innings while striking out 45 and walking only three, all while not allowing a run.
Backing him up
The Phillies offense finally got Sánchez the run support he needed in the sixth when Kyle Schwarber singled through the right side with two on, allowing Justin Crawford to score from second on a weak throw from Castellanos in right. Trea Turner added another run on a groundout to short and later added insurance with his second home run of the series into the third deck of the Western Metal Supply Company in left field.
Crawford meanwhile contributed defensively as well, as he made an Aaron Rowand-esque catch in the sixth to rob Machado and possibly help preserve Sánchez’ scoreless streak.
The Phillies turned to Jonathan Bowlan and José Alvarado to finish the game as their bullpen was short, and the pair combined for two scoreless innings with one hit allowed and two strikeouts to preserve the shutout that Sánchez started.
Next matchup
The Phillies will have off tomorrow before heading to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers on Friday. Zack Wheeler (4-0, 1.67) will take the mound for the Phillies at 10:15 pm on Apple TV.
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