Cristopher

Sánchez

Nothing underneath the hood here was concerning for Sánchez, but the Cubs pounced all over his sinker, missing it just once in 15 swings and notching seven hard-hit balls against it. He allowed long, loud homers to Michael Busch and Ian Happ. The Phillies got him off the hook for the loss against Chicago’s bullpen late in the game, but not an ideal outing for fantasy purposes. He’ll look to rebound next week against the Giants.

Sánchez retired the first two batters in the third before a single, an error, a walk and two more singles did him in. The first run-scoring single was a tapper to the right of the mound that Sánchez fielded before losing his footing. It would have been a tough play anyway for the left-hander. The last hit was a fly to shallow center that Brandon Marsh had no play on. Those were all the runs the Braves needed today. Sánchez was fantastic in striking out eight, and that walk to Matt Olson was the only one he issued on the day. Still, he’s now 2-2 in spite of a 1.59 ERA. He’ll face the Cubs on Thursday.

Manager Rob Thomson said he wanted to break up his two righties, but that means that Painter will be on a full week’s rest since his last performance was also on Sunday. Sánchez will now be pitching on regular rest.

Sánchez received plenty of help from Philadelphia’s offense, which scored 12 runs on 13 hits over his six innings of work, enabling him to coast to a relatively stress-free win. He limited the Cubs to just six hits with a fourth-inning homer by Dansby Swanson accounting for all the damage against him. He finished with eight strikeouts and also issued three walks. He’ll bring a sparkling 2.01 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 31/7 K/BB ratio across 22 1/3 innings over four starts into a home outing against the Braves in primetime on Sunday night.

A double, a base hit, and a groundout brought one run in to score against Sánchez in the first inning. He stranded two more runners in the second, then later gave up two more runs on three hits in the fifth. Both were charged as unearned runs to Sánchez following an error. He returned for the sixth and gave up two hits, ending his day at 92 pitches. One of the inherited runners would come in to score. Sánchez gave up 11 hits in all while striking out six. Despite a bloated .429 BABIP through three starts, the 29-year-old left-hander has allowed just three earned runs with a 23/4 K/BB ratio across 16 1/3 innings over his first three starts for a 1.65 ERA. He’ll take on the Cubs at home on Monday.

Sánchez was a little shaky in walking four today and another team might have been able to capitalize, but the Nationals couldn’t. He threw 33 pitches to work out of a bases-loaded situation after walking two in the second, and he was at 65 pitches through three, but he still pitched into the sixth anyway and finished with seven strikeouts. He’ll take a 0.79 ERA into his third start against the Giants.

Eight of the 11 balls in play against Sánchez today were hit hard, but only three turned into hits, with Andrew McCutchen’s 398-foot double being the lone extra-base hit. Sánchez can afford to give up the hard contact because so much of it is on the ground and because he hardly walks anyone. He issued no free passes today, Last year, he walked one or none in 19 of his 32 starts. Sánchez will face the Nationals next week.

The new agreement keeps Sánchez, who finished second in NL Cy Young Award balloting last season, in Philadelphia through 2032. His previous four-year, $22.5 million contract ran through 2028 and included team options for 2029 and 2030. The new agreement starts in 2027 and runs through 2032 with a club option for 2033. It makes plenty of sense that the Phillies would want to lock up one of the best left-handed arms in the game for as long as possible. He’ll be one of the first 10 pitchers off the board in all remaining fantasy drafts this spring.

In his final spring outing, Sánchez struck out four, allowed just two hits and didn’t walk a batter. The 29-year-old was named the Opening Day starter for the Phillies, and the 2025 Cy Young runner-up is a good bet to again be a top ten fantasy starter in 2026.

Sánchez will get the nod and square off against Nathan Eovaldi. This would likely have been Zack Wheeler if Wheeler was healthy, but he’s not, and Sánchez was terrific in 2025 where he finished second in Cy Young voting behind Paul Skenes. He should once again be a very solid fantasy option in 2026.