CHICAGO — Once the Phillies got settled this week in the tight quarters of the visiting clubhouse at Wrigley Field, Rob Thomson called everyone together for a few announcements. He saved the best for last.
Cristopher Sánchez was the National League’s pitcher of the month.
“I mean,” Thomson said, “the place just erupted.”
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It was the perfect bow to tie on the best stretch of Sánchez’s career. He yielded a total of six earned runs in five starts in June. And in the middle of it all, the 27-year-old lefty signed a four-year, $22.5 million contract extension.
How’s that for a dream month?
Sánchez’s feet had still barely touched the ground Wednesday when the Chicago Cubs scored one more run against him than he allowed all of last month. He didn’t make it out of the fifth inning in a 10-2 Fourth of July drubbing that busted the Phillies’ three-game winning streak and sent them to Atlanta with an 8½-game lead in the NL East.
Given where Sánchez was coming from, some regression was inevitable. Entering the day, he was second in the league with a 2.41 ERA and hadn’t allowed a run in 16 innings — or a homer in 68. Those streaks reached 19 and 71, respectively, before Ian Happ slugged a sinker into the left-field bleachers for a three-run shot that erased an early 2-0 Phillies lead.
But Sánchez’s troubles were rooted in the same place the Phillies often cite for his successes. He fell behind too many hitters and issued three walks, his highest total in a start since May 13 against the New York Mets.
Sánchez walked Seiya Suzuki and gave up a single to Happ to open the second inning. But he Houdinied his way out of the jam in all of 12 pitches by striking out Christopher Morel, Dansby Swanson, and David Bote.
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The fourth inning started similarly, and Sánchez wasn’t able to see his way free. He walked Cody Bellinger and gave up a single to Suzuki before Happ went deep, the first homer allowed by Sánchez since April 29.
It got worse. Sánchez issued a one-out walk to Swanson and a double to Bote before allowing a two-run single to Nico Hoerner for a 5-2 Cubs lead.
Bellinger and Suzuki knocked Sánchez from the game with back-to-back singles to begin the fifth inning. When Seranthony Domínguez gave up Happ’s second three-run shot of the game, it all but cued up “Go Cubs Go,” the postgame victory theme at Wrigley.
The Phillies used Trea Turner’s speed to race to an early lead. One day after beating out an infield single and scoring on a medium-depth sacrifice fly, Turner stole second in the first inning and scored from there on Brandon Marsh’s single up the middle. It marked Turner’s first stolen base since he returned last month from a strained hamstring.
Nick Castellanos’ solo homer in the fourth inning against Cubs starter Jameson Taillon stretched the margin to 2-0.
But after the Cubs finally got to Sánchez, his ERA skyrocketed to 2.96. And although he still has a decent chance of being picked for the All-Star Game (pitchers and reserves will be announced Sunday), there is a question to be raised about what the Phillies can expect in the second half.
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Thomson said the Phillies believe Sánchez can continue to pitch every fifth day and make his full complement of 30-plus starts. He has added muscle to his 6-foot-6 frame and has exhibited the strength to pitch deeper into games.
But Sánchez also hasn’t worked more than 99⅓ innings in the majors in one season. He’s already at 97⅓.
“There’s no indication that he can’t [keep going],” Thomson said. “If we have to skip a start somewhere, two starts, then that’s what we’ll do. We’ve just got to take care of him.”
Sánchez has earned a level of popularity among his teammates in part because of his persistence. Acquired in a 2019 trade with the Rays, disregarded as a prospect, and called up 13 months ago as much out of desperation as anything, he grabbed hold of his spot in the rotation last summer and worked to become of the best starters in the league over the last three months.
“He’s awesome,” Zack Wheeler said. “He’s locked in all the time. It’s really cool to see. He just has open ears. He’s always trying to get better, and he’s gotten better. It doesn’t always happen that way. I’m happy for him.”
Even after a July 4 dud in Chicago, Sánchez remains among the best stories on the team with the best record in baseball.
Where will it go from here?
