Cristopher Sánchez roughed up against Nationals

Sánchez got checked out by the trainer in the second after he was seen wiping blood on his pants. Fortunately, though, the blister didn’t seem to be in a particularly bad spot. It might have somehow even helped his changeup, which he was throwing harder than usual. He used it 44 times tonight and got 15 of his 23 whiffs with the pitch. Sánchez moved to 10-3 with a 2.00 ERA. He’s still one win behind Aaron Ashby for the major league lead, but he is the first starter to double figures. He’ll likely face the Royals on Monday.

It’s going to be a tough decision for the National League skipper since Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski and Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez both are deserving candidates to start the Midsummer Classic. There’s no scenario where Ohtani will be able to pitch in relief since he’s in the lineup at DH and won’t be able to warm up during the game. Simply put, Ohtani is either going to start the game or not pitch at all. There might not be a decision either way for a couple weeks.

Sánchez gave up five hits, walked one and struck out five. He improved to 9-3 with the win. Sánchez is an ace pitcher headed to another All-Star game this summer, but was just a footnote in the Phillies’ 15-3 win over the Mets. He cruised through six innings, allowing one run. Sánchez has a 1.80 ERA. He’ll face the Nationals on the road next weekend.

It’s the first time that Sánchez has allowed more than two runs since April 23. The normally-dominant left-hander gave up a solo homer to Jackson Chourio, and a three-run shot to Blake Perkins. It’s a disappointing effort, but Sánchez has been far too good in 2026 to have any real concerns based on one bad effort against a good baseball team. It’s likely he’ll rebound against the Mets next weekend.

Sánchez authored another masterful performance, notching his fourth double-digit strikeout effort, while limiting Toronto’s lineup to just five baserunners over seven frames. He gave up only four hits, including a fifth-inning solo shot to Ernie Clement, which was just the fourth round-tripper he’s allowed this entire season. The 29-year-old southpaw continues to bolster his NL Cy Young Award case after putting together a remarkable 50 2/3 scoreless innings streak earlier this month. He’ll face a tough challenge his next time out with a road matchup against the Brewers on Sunday.

Sánchez extended his consecutive scoreless streak to 50 2/3 innings before Jackson Merrill delivered an opposite-field base hit in the seventh, one of just four he allowed on the evening. The streak finishes as the fifth-longest in baseball since 1920, including the longest by a lefty. He fell shy of matching Orel Hershiser’s 59-IP record, but he still holds a 1.46 ERA and sits at the center of this year’s National League Cy Young race. He’ll look to continue that bid in his next outing, a road game in Toronto.

Sánchez struck out nine. Manny Machado made a bid to end the scoreless streak in the sixth, but his drive to right-center was caught at the wall by Justin Crawford. Statcast says it would have been a homer in 16 ballparks. Sánchez’s May concludes without him allowing a run in 39 innings of work. He’s potentially two starts away from challenging Orel Hershiser’s record streak of 58 scoreless innings from 1988. He’s one inning away from matching Zack Greinke’s streak of 45 2/3 scoreless innings in 2015, which is the longest since Hershiser’s. He’ll face the Padres again next week in Philadelphia.

Sánchez is on another level right now. He extended his scoreless innings streak to 37 2/3 innings after this start, which broke the Phillies’ franchise record set by Cliff Lee. This was also one of those beautiful outings where he had literally everything working. He dotted his sinker exactly where he wanted it bearing down on righties and that pitch beautifully set up both his changeup fading away and slider crashing on the back-foot of the Guardians’ right-handed batters. All in all, he forced 22 swings-and-misses, which was one off his season-high, and the vast majority came via his slider and changeup. Sadly for Sánchez, Guardians’ starter Gavin Williams matched him with eight scoreless frames, so he left this gem with a no-decision. Still, he’s firmly one of the best pitchers in the league and is scheduled to face the Padres next time out.

Sánchez was masterful on Saturday, tossing the third complete-game shutout in baseball this season. He scattered six hits and no walks, tossing an efficient 74 of 108 pitches for strikes and generating 17 whiffs to strike out a career-high 13 batters. The 29-year-old left-hander has posted a 1.82 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and an 80/14 K/BB ratio across 64 1/3 innings. He’ll follow up the dominant start with a matchup against the Guardians in Philadelphia on Friday.

Sánchez needed 103 pitches in the outing, allowing six hits and walking none. In a weekend where neither Jesus Luzardo nor Aaron Nola could take advantage of facing the Rockies on the road, Sánchez made sure to. The 29-year-old southpaw is sporting a career-best strikeout percentage so far this season and continues to be worth every penny of the big extension he signed before Opening Day. He visits the Pirates next.