Sanchez Notches 200th Strikeout as Phillies Rout Angels in Extras
Jayne Kamin/Imagn Images
For the second night in a row, the Phillies just narrowly escaped the Los Angeles Angels. Against a team that has lost eight of its last ten and is tied for having the worst record in baseball, coming about wins should certainly not be as strenuous as it’s been in Los Angeles. But when it’s all said and done, the Wild Card and NL East Standings do not care about the means to an end.
To open the series, the Phillies relied on Edmundo Sosa’s ninth inning heroics to propel them to a victory in game one. Opportunities presented themselves to take control earlier in the game, but poor situational hitting and a base running blunder by Bryan De La Cruz in the top of the fifth killed the Phillies’ chances early on. In game two, it was Bryce Harper who ran into an out attempting to steal home to extend the Phils’ lead in the top of the eighth.
When Harper initially broke for home on Trevor Martin’s 0-2 pitch to Alec Bohm, it appeared that he slid his hand under the leg of Angels’ catcher Travis d’Arnaud, getting a finger on the plate prior to the tag being applied. The Angels, however, challenged the play, which was eventually overturned to end the Phillies’ rally in the eighth inning.
Luckily, excellent pitching bailed the Phillies out of their miscues on the offensive side. Cristopher Sanchez recorded what was arguably his best start of the second half, allowing only two hits in seven shutout innings. Tallying eight strikeouts on the evening, Sanchez became just the third pitcher in the National League to reach the coveted 200-strikeout threshold in 2026.
When Cristopher Sanchez exited the game after the home half of the seventh, the Phillies retained their 1-0 lead thanks to Brandon Marsh’s RBI single from the second inning. In the bottom of the eighth, the Angels had their moment of magic, as Zach Neto launched his 23rd home run of the season to bring the game to a tie.
In the ninth, the Phillies came up empty against Angels’ reliever Luke Murphy, and Jhoan Duran shut down his half of the inning, sending the game to extras.
Justin Crawford kickstarted the tenth with a single to put runners on the corners, and a Kyle Schwarber double gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead. In a tough 0-2 count, Trea Turner poked a curveball to the opposite field, scoring both Crawford and Garrett Stubbs, who ran in place of Schwarber.
A Luis Arraez double play brought the inning to a close, and Jhoan Duran came back out for the tenth inning, allowing the ghost runner to score but still securing the victory.
Amid the dramatics of multiple runners being caught stealing in the same inning and Jhoan Duran facing nine batters to end the game, the Phillies hot streak carries on. Now, the Phils have a four-game lead in the NL Wild Card race, and they are a season-high 16 games over .500.
With Zack Wheeler taking the bump for the series finale, he will look to not only rebound after a tough outing in Seattle but also secure what should be the Phillies’ fourth series sweep of August.
Colin Daly
Colin is an editor and the lead Phillies writer for Philly Sports Reports. He has been covering sports since 2020 and has been with PSR since the summer of 2021. As a lifelong Philly fan, he has a strong passion for the core four and does not miss a game. Colin is a co-host of the Bell Ringers podcast.
Get new articles emailed right to your inbox.
