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Cristopher Sánchez was fired up after throwing eight shutout innings against the A's on Tuesday.
The Philadelphia Phillies are red hot, and Cristopher Sanchez is letting all of his frustration out.
Sanchez opened up about letting out pent up angst after dominating the Athletics for the Phillies’ seventh win in their past eight games under interim manager Don Mattingly.
Sanchez struck out 10 over eight innings of three-hit, shutout ball, improving to 3-2 on the season in Philadelphia’s 9-1 win. Sanchez now leads the National League in strikeouts (60) and ranks ninth in the NL in ERA (2.42) through eight starts.
Sanchez and the Phillies have come a long way in just two weeks. Sanchez first hit his rock bottom with a ghastly, 12-hit, six-earned-run performance against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, and the Phillies fell to 8-18 the next day when they lost to the Atlanta Braves.
But the Phillies have been on the upswing since. They are 8-2 in their past 10, and Sanchez has surrendered just two earned runs while striking out 17 in 14 2/3 against the A’s and San Francisco Giants.
“We’re hard workers. That’s what we do,” Sanchez said of the turnaround. “We like a challenge.”
The A’s have one of the best young, dynamic offenses in baseball, which is why they sit in first place in the American League West through almost 25% of the season.
But Sanchez flummoxed them by retiring 15 of the first 17 batters he faced. The lefty’s performance was important, since the Phils only scored one run through their first six trips to the plate before breaking it open with five runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth inning.
“I felt great. All my pitches felt great,” Sanchez told NBC Sports Philadelphia through an interpreter. “The outing overall felt great today. Attacking the zone early, so everything went great today for me.”
Sanchez took the mound for the eighth, after watching the Phils open a 6-0 lead on the A’s thanks to J.T. Realmuto’s two-RBI double and Bryson Stott’s 398-foot home run. Sanchez retired the side in order and let out a scream after striking out Brent Rooker swinging to finish his night.
“It’s just letting a little bit of emotion out,” Sanchez said.
It’s a shame Rob Thomson needed to lose his job in order for the fortunes to change in the Phillies’ favor.
But luck has been a factor in the Phils’ turnaround. They have the second-best bullpen xERA (3.26) but rank 17th in actual bullpen ERA because of their 29th-ranked .327 batting average on balls in play.
Their starters have been even less lucky. Philadelphia’s rotation of Sanchez, Aaron Nola, Andrew Painter and Jesus Luzardo have pitched to a 4.72 ERA because of their .359 BABIP this year — its starters have an xERA of 3.89, eighth-best in the majors.
So that’s the real reason why Sanchez was airing out his frustration. He’s speaking for the whole team. The Phillies’ offense is also turning things around since they are tied for 12th in home runs (39) but are 27th in runs scored because of their 29th-ranked BABIP (.267).
Pat Pickens is an experienced sports writer and media personality who has written for outlets like NHL.com, the Associated Press, the New York Times and USA Today. He covers the NFL, NBA, NHL and NBA as a breaking news contributor at Heavy. More about Pat Pickens
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