Cristopher Sánchez rewrites Phillies' scoreless innings streak record from 1911, caps sparkling May with win over Padres
· Yahoo Sports
The last time Cristopher Sánchez allowed a run, the Philadelphia Phillies were 10-19 amid their second game under the leadership of interim manager Don Mattingly. It was April 30.
What followed was back-to-back walk-off victories that set the stage for a May turnaround, which has featured a streak of brilliance from Sánchez, last year’s runner-up for the NL Cy Young Award.
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With a spotless fourth inning Wednesday during a 3-0 road win over the San Diego Padres (31-24), the southpaw made Phillies history. At the time, the lefty pushed his scoreless innings streak to 41 2/3 innings, topping the 41-inning streak that Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander authored as a rookie in 1911, a mark that, before Wednesday, was the franchise’s longest such streak since at least 1893, when the mound moved to its current distance.
Untouchable across his past five starts, Sánchez rewrote a Phillies record that was 115 years old. Then he kept that streak alive throughout a seven-inning, nine-strikeout outing that moved Philadelphia to 29-27 on the year.
Occasionally navigating traffic, Sánchez blanked the Padres, and, as a result, he became the second MLB pitcher since 1913 to go an entire month without allowing a run despite racking up at least 30 innings on the bump. Orel Hershiser also accomplished that feat in September 1988 while starring for the Los Angeles Dodgers in a World Series-winning season.
Hershiser, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, owns the longest single-season scoreless innings streak in the live-ball era (from 1920-on).
The three-time All-Star right-handed hurler piled up 59 straight frames of shutout ball in 1988. Following Wednesday’s start, Sánchez’s streak, the seventh longest in major-league baseball since 1920, is at 44 2/3 innings.
Sánchez was feeling it Wednesday, and he especially appreciated the timely support he received from center fielder Justin Crawford. The rookie slammed into the wall while snagging a deep fly ball to right-center that seven-time All-Star Manny Machado launched in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Philadelphia scored two of its three runs in the top half of that frame. Kyle Schwarber logged an RBI single to draw first blood.
In the ninth, Trea Turner went yard for the second straight game, blasting a solo shot to left to give the Phillies an insurance run and effectively secure what ended up being a sweep of the Padres.