Cristopher Sanchez Caps Off Magnificent May By Breaking Phillies All-Time Consecutive Scoreless Inning Streak: ‘It’s Something Special’
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
Is there any pitcher better in baseball right now than Cristopher Sanchez?
Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1911, Cliff Lee in 2011, and Larry Andersen in 1984. 2026 Cristopher Sanchez has now passed them all to become the Phillies franchise record holder for consecutive scoreless innings pitched.
Over the past month, the Phillies’ left-hander has been on another level when it comes to making starts, as the 29-year-old has cemented himself as the frontrunner for the Cy Young award through the first third of the 2026 season.
Since April 30, Sanchez has started six games for the Phillies, and after allowing two runs in the first inning of his start that day against the Giants, Sanchez has not allowed a single run. It’s 136 consecutive outs without allowing a run, and it’s 44.2 consecutive scoreless innings for Sanchez.
The 44.2 consecutive scoreless innings passes Alexander’s record of 41 innings, that’s been held since 1911. Sanchez also passed Clayton Kershaw and his 41 innings for the longest scoreless inning streak by a left-handed pitcher since 1961.
It is the seventh-longest streak in MLB since 1920, and it’s only the second time in MLB history that a starting pitcher went an entire calendar month without allowing a run, the previous being Orel Hershiser, who currently holds the Major League Baseball record of 59 consecutive scoreless innings in 1988.
He capped off his incredible month of May with another gutsy performance against the San Diego Padres, tossing seven scoreless innings on 100 pitches, with nine strikeouts.
Sanchez finished the month of May with 39 innings pitched, allowed 25 hits, only three walks, and struck out 45 batters, while also not allowing a single run. It’s the first time a Phillies starter has recorded a perfect 0.00 ERA in a month in franchise history. His WHIP was also an impressive 0.72.
Sanchez has been the ultimate team guy during his time in Philadelphia, always pushing off singular accomplishments and saying what he does on the mound is for the team. However, breaking records that have stood for 115 years seems to make a guy want to give himself a little bit of credit.
“It’s something special, something really important,” Sanchez said Wednesday. “I never imagined something like this, so I’m just really happy and proud of myself.”
It’s been a fantastic year for Sanchez already as the lefty has tossed 79.1 innings on the season, the most in all of baseball, for an also league-best 1.47 ERA. With a 6-2 record and 95 strikeouts, the second most in all of baseball, Sanchez is well on his way to being right back in the neck of the National League Cy Young race for the remainder of the year.
The mentality of Sanchez is what is the most fascinating part when it comes to his game. It takes a stone-cold killer to be able to go out on the mound day after day and be as successful as he is. The best of the best have that killer edge and locked-in mentality, and Sanchez continues to not only show it but preach it.
“I just went out to compete, and you know, give the best of myself. That’s just my mentality out there on the mound,” Sanchez said. “I’m still focused on performing every five days. This is not over yet. I gotta focus on keeping on doing the best I can on my days.”
Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly has now been at the helm for just over a month, and he’s been lucky enough to start his time as the Phillies skipper with Sanchez having the greatest stretch of his entire career. The Philies have won five of Sanchez’s last six starts, with the sole loss coming in a 1-0 loss where Sanchez tossed eight shutout innings, and the sole run came on a pinch-hit solo bomb in the ninth inning.
“He’s been amazing from the standpoint of it just seems like every time out, no matter what team or who it is, just kind of keeps going,” Mattingly said after the sweep of the Padres. “The competitiveness that you don’t get to see, when you see it kind of day in, day out, it’s different. I shouldn’t say consistency, it is consistency, but it’s just the way he kind of just keeps going, keeps trying to get better from one start to the next, they look the same kind of all year long.”
The craziest part about Sanchez this month is that there is still a chance that he doesn’t win May’s Pitcher of the Month award, as Sanchez has been battling with Milwaukee Brewers right-handed Jacob Misiorowski. “The Miz” has had an excellent May as well, tossing 31.1 innings where he’s allowed just one run, striking out 49 batters so far, which is already more than Sanchez. Misiorowski also has another start to make before the month ends.
The rest of the season will be a dogfight between these two, along with several other pitchers who are having outstanding years in the National League, Paul Skenes, Chase Burns, and Shohei Ohtani, to name a few. However, if Sanchez continues to throw like this, no chance anyone will be able to top his already great year, and the Phillies could very likely have their first Cy Young winner since Roy Halladay in 2010.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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