PHILADELPHIA (AP) — As recently as two years ago, Cristopher Sánchez was a pitcher in transition, earning some major league time yet frequently shuttling between the Phillies and their Triple-A affiliate in the Lehigh Valley.
He also was trying to establish himself, at both levels, as a starting pitcher, one who now has not only has shown an affinity for pitching for length, but pitching as effectively as anyone in baseball.
The 28-year-old Sánchez showed his stuff again Tuesday night, pitching a over the Boston Red Sox in the 24th complete game in the majors this season. In the course of a 106-pitch gem, he allowed a fourth-inning home run to Rob Refsnyder and also struck out 12 and induced 13 ground-ball outs.
While becoming a regular starter only late in the 2023 season, Sánchez wiped away his early career inconsistency and was an All-Star last season, and probably should have been one this season, too. He is 9-2 with a 2.40 ERA and has gone six innings or more over his last nine consecutive outings.
“That just tells me that the work we’ve been doing since the offseason is working,” Sánchez said of his consistency. “And that’s something I take a lot of pride in.”
With a vulnerable bullpen and usual second-starter Aaron Nola suffering a bad season start before going down with an injury, Sánchez’s growth is something the Phillies desperately needed. He has responded with a cool demeanor and an arsenal that includes a high-90s fastball often tempered with a killer changeup.
“He has electric stuff,” Bryce Harper said of Sánchez after the Phillies improved to 58-43. “He’s done a great job for us. Just throws strikes. He’s kind of evolved into an ace for us.”
Sánchez also has an understanding with manager Rob Thomson — he isn’t usually a pitcher who asks to come out of a game. Hence, when Sanchez kicked into an unusual celebration after striking out Refsnyder for the second time in the game to end the eighth inning, it turned out this show still had an inning to go.
“No, I always wait for the manager to tell me I’m done,” Sánchez said. “I wait for him to come to me.”
Thomson went to his second ace starter after the eighth, “just to see if he was OK.
“He said, ‘No, I’m not tired, I’d tell you if I was tired,’” Thomson said. “So we sent him back out.”
It took only 10 pitches in the ninth for Sánchez to finish out his third career complete game. With it will come yet more recognition that this guy is on the list of potential National League Cy Young Award candidates.
That’s a long way from the hopeful pitcher splitting time between the minors and majors just a few seasons ago.
“That was very hard, but I never gave up,” Sánchez said. “I was staying strong, both mentally and physically, and I was always ready for the opportunity whenever it came.”
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