Well, he did it again.
Cristopher Sánchez blanked another team, this time the San Diego Padres, for seven innings on Wednesday at Petco Park. He allowed six hits, no walks and struck out nine in the Phils’ 3-0, series-sweeping victory.
It was the fifth straight start in which he did not allow a run, a streak of 44.2 scoreless innings, all coming in the month of May. Grover Cleveland Alexander, a Hall of Famer whose jersey is retired by the team, previously held the record of 41 straight scoreless innings, done
in 1911.
No one, not a single soul, over the course of 115 years was able to top Alexander’s mark until Cristopher Sánchez did it on Wednesday out in California.
“The Sánchize.”
We have fought two World Wars, one Cold War, been through a Great Depression, put men on the moon, watched rock ‘n roll rise and die, and created a world in which computers may someday soon rule us all during that time frame.
A lot of extremely talented pitchers have come and gone through Philadelphia in those 115 years. Four different pitchers have won seven Cy Young Awards, and dozens of others have come really close.
Steve Carlton. Roy Halladay. Curt Schilling. Cole Hamels. Zack Wheeler. Cliff Lee. Robin Roberts. Jim Bunning. Chris Short. Aaron Nola. Curt Simmons.
None of them did what Sánchez has done.
And is still doing.
His 44.2 straight scoreless innings ranks 11th all-time in MLB history. He is 16.2 innings away from breaking Orel Hershiser’s all-time record of 59. It’s also the third-longest scoreless inning streak by a left-handed pitcher in MLB history, and he’s just three innings away from surpassing Carl Hubbell’s 45.1. He’s the first pitcher in Phillies history to have five straight starts of seven or more innings. Only Don Drysdale (1968) and Hershiser (1988) reached six.
Sanchez’ season ERA stands at 1.47. He leads all MLB starters in fWAR (3.3). Only six pitchers are over 2.0. His rise from a AAAA/No. 5 fringe starter to the best left-handed pitcher in baseball is unprecedented in the history of the Phillies.
And although the competition is fierce, Sanchez should be the favorite to win NL Pitcher of the Month for May.
Only one of those pitchers didn’t give up a single run all month. And, Sánchez has been piling up strikeouts, giving up no walks, and dominating on another level.
- He joins Hershiser as the only pitchers to go an entire calendar month without allowing a run since 1913 (minimum 30 IP).
- Sánchez is the only MLB pitcher in the modern era with 40+ strikeouts and no runs allowed in a calendar month.
- He’s one of only three pitchers in MLB history to have a month in which he pitched at least 39 innings without giving up a run, joining Hershiser and Doc Gooden.
- He has the most strikeouts of any pitcher during a 5-start span in which he allowed zero runs (47). The next closest is 2007 Brandon Webb, and 1968 Bob Gibson and Don Drysdale (35).
Now, there were a few instances in Wednesday’s 3-0 victory over San Diego where it looked like the Padres might break through.
Some of those swings were scary.
It’s also fair to wonder if this is the greatest single month any Phillies player has had, offensively or defensively. In terms of pitching, Cliff Lee’s iconic 2011 month of June has often been cited as the greatest single month of pitching in franchise history. Sánchez just topped it.
Offensively, one could argue Ryan Howard’s August of 2006 was superior. He tied the franchise record (Cy Williams) for most home runs in a calendar month (14), totaled 41 RBIs and hit .348/.464/.750 with a 1.214 OPS. He followed that up with a September in which he hit 9 bombs, knocked in 21 runs, and put up an even better slash line: .385/.562/.750, 1.312 OPS.
That’s a coin flip.
What’s next? In order to keep the streak going, he’ll have to go up against most of the same hitters he faced on Wednesday when the Padres visit Citizens Bank Park next week.
No one knows how long he’ll be able to keep this going. But for one afternoon, Phils fans got to experience a little bit of electricity watching The Sánchize make history.
