Cristopher Sanchez Gets Run Support at Last, Phillies Win Series vs Padres
Jul 2, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sanchez (61) throws a pitch against the San Diego Padres during the fourth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
After a day off on Tuesday, today, the Phillies and Padres, two teams that have been inconsistent over the past 2 weeks, this doubleheader took on a playoff feel in terms of importance. The Phillies took the first game on Monday and lost the matinee of the doubleheader, with the highlight being seeing Bryce Harper in the lineup.
The night game, which was a makeup game for Tuesday’s cancelled game for inclement weather, in the rubber match of the series against another playoff contender, the San Diego Padres. They would send out Dylan Cease to take on Cristopher Sanchez in the nightcap of a day/night doubleheader. The early game should have been the getaway game for San Diego, but because of the cancellation yesterday, San Diego will get a late flight out tonight on their way back to the West Coast.
In the second game, Phillies manager Rob Thomson changed the lineup to give some rest to Nick Castellanos, but kept his bat in the lineup by playing Kyle Schwarber in left field and Brandon Marsh in right for the nightcap. Topper was taking no chances with Harper and started Otto Kemp at first.
Unlike in his 4 previous starts, the Phillies gave Sanchez 5 runs of run support and he didn’t waste the opportunity, giving 7 strong innings, with the Phillies taking the rubber match of the series 5-1.
In his last 4 starts of June, the continuing theme is that the Phillies have not given Sanchez any run support, scoring 7 runs over those 4 games. In his first start of June against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Phils put up 8 runs, 6 off his starting matchup, Bowden Francis, in 1.2 innings. In June alone, Sanchez had been pitching incredibly well, coming into this game, he had a 2-1 record with a 1.85 ERA over 34 innings. He is more than keeping up with the other Cy Young candidates on the stacked Phillies starting rotation.
Granted, much of June has been without Bryce Harper, but the offense seems to disappear when Sanchez is on the mound. An example is that his one loss in June was in Houston, where he gave up one run over six innings, and still didn’t get a win. All of those losses in that series were frustrating for the Phils, but that one seemed to be emblematic of the series: get a strong pitching performance from Sanchez, but still only score one run.
Tonight, Sanchez started strong with his ground ball pitches, getting working well. In the first three innings, he only threw 23 pitches, inducing 5 ground ball outs. In the fourth inning, when Fernando Tatis Jr. got on base with a single, stole second, and Jackson Merrill singled Tatis Jr. home, a feeling of anxiety came over the crowd. Not that Sanchez giving up one run is an issue, but for the Phillies lately, that is a tall task to overcome in Sanchez’s starts.
That anxiety went away fast in the bottom of the 4th when Max Kepler came up with Alec Bohm on base and launched his 10th home run of the season, putting the Phils up 2-1.
The Phillies kept their foot on the gas on Cease in the 5th, including a long solo home run for Marsh, his first since March.
All while Sanchez continued to pitch incredibly well, mixing offspeed pitches with locating his sinker well. He went 7 innings, only giving up the one earned run, before turning the ball over to Orion Kerkering in the 8th, and Matt Strahm slammed the door shut in the 9th.
This was the first time in a month the Phillies gave Sanchez more than 3 runs of support, and he took advantage of it. It truly is a pleasure to watch three aces go out and take the ball for the Phils this season. Reminiscent of the 2011 Phillies starting rotation. Tomorrow is a rare off day between home series with Cincinnati coming into town on the July 4th holiday. This is a series the Phils can build on against a playoff contender.
Steve Hamilton
Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible, we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.
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