Cristopher Sánchez celebrated his new contract with seven innings of shutout baseball and a series win against the Diamondbacks.
One day after signing a four-year extension with the Phillies, Sánchez held off Arizona on Sunday en route to a 4-1 victory at Citizens Bank Park. Sánchez allowed just three hits — all singles — and zero runs across seven innings. For the second day in a row, the Phillies’ pitching staff did not issue a single walk.
Sánchez’s changeup was effective on Sunday, with three of his four total strikeouts coming via changeup. He generated four swings and misses with the pitch. The Phillies’ defense also turned two double plays.
In the second inning, Alec Bohm extended his National League lead in doubles with his 27th of the season, while Nick Castellanos also stayed hot with an RBI single to drive Bohm in.
The Phillies tacked on two more runs in the sixth. Diamondbacks pitcher Justin Martínez walked Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh, and then balked to advance both runners. David Dahl cashed them in with a single to right field.
Diamondbacks bench coach Jeff Banister was ejected after taking exception to a pitch clock violation on Joe Mantiply, who had entered the game in relief of Martínez.
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The Phillies strung together a Bryce Harper double, Bohm hit by a pitch, and a Stott single to plate another run in the seventh. The offense finished with 11 total hits.
Rob Thomson said pregame that new call-up Michael Mercado was available to possibly pitch out of the bullpen Sunday in the right situation — ideally a low-leverage one — but such a situation did not arise. José Alvarado took over for Sánchez with a 1-2-3 eighth inning.
Jeff Hoffman entered the game in the ninth and allowed a leadoff double to Geraldo Perdomo. A single by Ketel Marte drove him in to end the shutout, but after a brief mound visit Hoffman induced a groundout to secure the win.
