Cristopher Sanchez Picks Up 16th Win Of The Season As Phillies Snap Four-Game Losing Streak Against Marlins
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
The winning streak is alive, and Cristopher Sanchez once again holds the lead for most wins in baseball.
After wrapping up a three-game sweep over the Minnesota Twins, the Philadelphia Phillies returned home for the first of six straight contests at Citizens Bank Park against teams that are three or fewer games behind them in the Wild Card standings.
Their first series pits them against their rival, the Miami Marlins, a team that has won the last four matchups against the Phillies. While the Phillies typically don’t perform their best this year when they return home from a road trip, the team had their ace Cristopher Sanchez on the mound, looking for his 16th win on the season.
Now it wasn’t easy for Sanchez, as he allowed a base hit in all but one inning, and in four of his six innings pitched, Miami threatened with two runners on base, but Sanchez powered through, allowing just one run over six innings of work, striking out six.
The Phillies’ bats, the ones that finally woke up for some production in the Twins series, had a good, not great evening, totaling six runs on 11 hits, but leaving 12 runners on base and batting 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
Late offensive spurts from both teams kept this game going back-and-forth through the final four innings, but thanks to the large enough cap they were able to create thanks to Sanchez’s six innings, the lefty nabbed his 16th win of the season.
Sanchez kicked off the game with his best inning of the night, sending Miami down in order 1-2-3, thanks in large part to a Jeter-esque throw from Trea Turner to kick off the night.
The Phillies failed to answer in their first at-bats, and despite singles by both teams in the second, the game remained scoreless. In the third, the Marlins’ rally was ended after a bullet throwout by J.T. Realmuto, and in the bottom half of the inning, Justin Crawford led the inning off with a leadoff double down the left field line and sped home two batters later thanks to a single from Turner.
Now leading, the runs didn’t stop there as Bryce Harper worked a walk, putting runners on first and second, and Luis Arraez came through with an RBI single of his own, doubling the Phillies’ lead.
Now with the lead, Sanchez went back out for his fourth inning of work but once again ran into trouble after walking the leadoff man and allowing a single to Otto Lopez, and both advancing into scoring position after a ground two-foot groundout from Javier Sanoja. Sanchez was able to bear down, striking out Leo Jiménez and getting Griffin Conine to pop out.
The Phillies set up runners on the corners in the fourth, but Turner grounded into an inning-ending double play, and an inning later, Philadelphia did the same thing, this time off the bat of Alec Bohm.
After five innings of avoiding allowing runs, Sanchez finally reached his limit in the fifth, allowing his first run of the night. Agustín Ramírez led off the fifth with a double, and despite being able to grab two outs, Conine finally came up big for Miami, smacking a single to left for the first run of the game for the Marlins.
Leading by just a run, the Phillies offense managed to get it back and some in their half of the fifth. Bryson Stott and Relamuto walked, and pinch-hitter Derek Hill smacked a single up the middle to put Philadelphia back up two, and Kyle Schwarber brought in another with a sac fly.
With Sanchez’s night done, the Phillies turned to Jonathan Bowlan to start the final nine outs of the night. Bowlan was able to grab two quick outs, but Miami’s middle of the order kept grinding with Xavier Edwards and Ramírez hitting back-to-back singles and Lopez walking to load the bases.
Sanoja dug in and smoked a liner down the line and was called foul on the field, but it was overturned for an automatic double, scoring two runs. Bowlan was able to grab a strikeout to end the frame, but Miami was once again able to cut the deficit.
The Phillies added a run in their half of the seventh, without a base hit, using two walks, a hit by pitch, and a fielder’s choice error. Brian Navarreto smoked his first home run of the year in the eighth, but a single to center from Bohm kept the Phillies with a two-run lead heading into the ninth.
Jhoan Duran came on in the ninth for his 27th save of the year, but of course, nothing comes easy with the Phillies as Edwards singled and eventually made it to third thanks to defensive indifference and a groundout, and scored thanks to another RBI single from Lopez. With the tying run on base, Duran worked around it, grabbing a popout and a groundout to end the game with the Phillies winning 6-5.
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 written and edited for 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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