The weekend Memorial Day series is going to be filled with weather issues. It’s projected to rain all day tomorrow, which could force a doubleheader for Sunday before they play a day game in San Diego on Monday. They did not get batting practice in today because of rain and showers filled through as Cristopher Sánchez and Gavin Williams dueled for eight scoreless innings each.
So even if the Phillies lost this game, there is some good news for it going quick.
Sánchez entered tonight’s game with a 29.2
inning scoreless streak that began back in April against the Giants. Even if he threw eight shutout innings against a surprisingly competent Guardians offense, it didn’t always look like his A stuff.
He was cutting his changeup often early in the game but it didn’t matter. Angel Martínez and Rhys Hoskins couldn’t stop biting on it in the first.
David Fry took a hanging changeup into left field for one of his two hits off Sánchez for the night but the next three batters couldn’t do anything.
Skipping to the 5th, Brayan Rocchio took a single to left field for a knock but it led to nothing again. This time, it was JT Realmuto who fired a dart to keep the Guardians out of scoring position. They did not have a runner on second or third base for a single pitch of this game.
The seventh inning was the Guardians best chance of ending Sánchez’s streak. Rhys Hoskins crushed a sinker at 99.9 mph off the bat but it died into Justin Crawford’s hands. David Fry hit a 106.2 mph line drive over Bryson Stott’s head and after a Bazzana strikeout, Sánchez fell 3-0 to Rocchio.
Rocchio got the green light to swing 3-0, got a good pitch to crush, but the ball died at the warning track in Crawford’s hands.
Sánchez would fire a scoreless eighth inning to put his streak at 37.2 innings for second most in Phillies history. It’s incredible.
Cleveland Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams more than matched Sánchez pitch-for-pitch with 11 strikeouts, 17 whiffs, four hits allowed, and no walks. The command and feel for his sweeper and curveball tonight were elite and the Phillies didn’t stand a chance.
Bryce Harper smacked a two out double past a diving Rhys Hoskins into right field but Alec Bohm struck out to end the threat. Adolis García reached first base on a José Ramírez error but nothing could follow.
The single worst at bat of the entire night might’ve been in the fifth inning by García. He has not been able to find any sort of offensive stroke for two weeks. He entered tonight just 1 for his last 32 with 17 strikeouts in his last ten games. He chased three different Williams sweepers that weren’t particularly close and went back to the dugout.
They tried to start something right after with Bryson Stott slapping a single and stealing second base. However, the bottom of the order couldn’t get the job done and the game stayed scoreless.
Moving forward to the bottom of the seventh, there could’ve been a spark. Brandon Marsh took a curveball to right field for a one-out single and was looking to run. García worked a seven pitch at bat, laying off a few down and away sweepers but wasn’t ready for the high fastball and Marsh was caught stealing.
Jhoan Duran entered the ninth inning with a game still searching for it’s first run of the night. As both starters threw body shots and uppercuts at the opposing lineups for eight innings, it was time for both teams’ top-tier closers to send the game into extra innings.
José Ramírez was ready for a splinker and sent one down the right field line for what should’ve been a leadoff double. Adolis García had other plans, throwing an absolute strike to second base to nail JRam by multiple feet.
It seemed like the game would remain scoreless forever… well for only a few extra minutes.
Stephen Vogt went to his bench and called on Kyle Manzardo to hit for Rhys Hoskins with the right handed Duran on the mound. He looked for a splinker up in the zone, got it, and sent it into the left field seats to finally break the tie.
Cade Smith, one of the game’s underrated closers, entered to shut down the top of the Phillies lineup. Trea Turner popped up a first pitch sweeper to shortstop. Kyle Schwarber saw a steady diet of splitters and sweepers to work a full count but was not ready for the one fastball he was going to get and walked back to the dugout. Bryce Harper ended it quickly by chasing a first-pitch sweeper to Manzardo to end the inning.
The Phillies are once again below .500, with the offense being shutout by the Guardians. As things were heading in the right direction to begin the Don Mattingly tenure, the club has now lost three in a row.
