Not about to give up runs
The Phillies' record for consecutive scoreless innings stood for 115 years. Grover Cleveland Alexander set it in 1911. Cristopher Sánchez broke it this week, extending his streak to 44⅔ innings — seventh-longest in the live ball era, in the company of Orel Hershiser, Bob Gibson, and Don Drysdale. He's also the sixth pitcher in MLB history to throw at least seven scoreless innings in five consecutive starts. We’re not talking about this enough.
Not so fast: Sánchez's four-seamer sits around 94 mph. He doesn't have a 102-mph fastball, a national marketing deal, or a storyline that fits neatly into a broadcast package. The NL Cy Young conversation orbits Paul Skenes, Jacob Misiorowski, and Shohei Ohtani — all pitchers with stuff that produces jaw-dropping radar-gun numbers. Sánchez produces jaw-dropping results without the heaters.
The changeup: The pitch that makes this work is his changeup — described by those watching closely as "absolutely filthy," a pitch that tunnels off his four-seamer and falls off the table at contact. It doesn't light up the gun or the highlight reel but generates weak contact at a rate scoreless streaks are built on. Five straight starts of seven-plus shutout innings each by sequencing a devastating changeup with a good-enough fastball.
The bargain ace: Before the season, the Phillies signed Sánchez to an extension worth just over $100 million. That number felt appropriate at the time — a reliable second or third starter with above-average command. Two months in, it looks like one of the quieter bargains in recent memory. Zack Wheeler remains the Phillies’ ace on paper, but the Sánchez/Wheeler combination is increasingly being called the best 1-2 rotation punch in baseball.
The Cy Young field: The NL Cy Young race is legitimately stacked. Skenes is Skenes. Misiorowski has the best strikeout rate in the league. Chris Sale is 37 years old and posting a 1.89 ERA for the Braves. Ohtani is under 1.00 through nine starts but pitching on a managed workload. It's the richest individual award race in recent memory — and the player leading all of baseball in bWAR is the one whose name gets mentioned last.
