Sánchez goes the distance with 99-pitch, two-hit gem

PHILADELPHIA -- It ended up being the quickest game at Citizens Bank Park this season, but it wasn’t quite as short J.T. Realmuto remembered.

“We got through three innings and it felt like we were out there for five minutes on defense total,” said the Phillies’ catcher.

It was that kind of night for Cristopher Sánchez. The left-hander was masterful, tossing a complete game to lead the Phillies past Washington, 5-1, on Saturday evening.

During those first three innings, which lasted slightly longer than Realmuto’s estimation, Sánchez threw 27 pitches and didn’t allow a walk or hit.

It was a sign of things to come. Sánchez allowed just two hits on the day, striking out four -- including the 250th K of his career -- and walked none. He commanded his fastball on both sides of the plate and used it to set up the changeup to cruise through the Nationals’ lineup. He recorded 15 groundouts, tying the most by a Phillies pitcher since Statcast began tracking the data in 2008.

Even with all the quick innings, manager Rob Thomson was hesitant to push him. Despite a recent rough stretch, which the Phillies (73-50) are quickly putting behind them, this team is always looking toward October. Managing workloads at this time of year is of the utmost importance.

The risk of pushing a starter was fresh on the manager’s mind; the Phillies sent Tyler Phillips to Triple-A earlier in the day, with Thomson acknowledging that fatigue might have set in after the rookie right-hander tossed a shutout at the end of July.

“You know how I feel about complete games so it concerns me a little bit,” said Thomson. “But I had to give it to him. After the eighth inning, I said, ‘If we score any runs you’re done.’ I wouldn’t let him go over 100 pitches.”

Sánchez threw 99 pitches.

Through six innings, he had allowed one hit and thrown just 64 pitches. Unfortunately the one hit was a home run by Alex Call, so the Phillies entered the bottom of the sixth tied 1-1.

Trea Turner started that inning with a double and came around to score on Alec Bohm’s one-out single to right. Realmuto, Edmundo Sosa and Johan Rojas all added RBI singles before the inning was over to give the Phillies a 5-1 lead.

That was more than they needed. The game nearly ended on Sánchez’s 98th pitch, but a throwing error by Turner extended the ninth inning by a batter. Sánchez induced a soft flyout from CJ Abrams on the very next pitch to finish the Nationals off.

Sánchez had struggled since the All-Star break, having lost four of his previous five starts entering Saturday. Both the pitcher and his manager said the downturn was due to lowering his arm slot and not due to fatigue.

“They got him up top in his last start and he really felt good about it,” Thomson said. “The ball was coming out of his hand great today.”

Sánchez said 95 percent of his struggles had been related to the issue.

“Thank you to the pitching coaches who saw that early and said, ‘You’re lowering your arm slot,’” Sánchez said, through his interpreter. “Thanks to that we got the results we got today.”

When asked which pitch benefited most from the change in arm slot, Sánchez didn’t need to use a translator.

“Everything,” he said in English.

It was the second complete game this year for Sánchez, who became the third consecutive Phillies starter to pitch into the seventh inning. It has given the bullpen a much-needed rest. Now the focus turns to keeping the rotation rested.

“We have to really monitor them so we don’t put them in harm's way.” Thomson said. “So we don’t get them overly fatigued. We have to get through this month and September.”

Still, lights-out starts from Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Sánchez served as a reminder of how dangerous the Phillies’ pitching staff will be if they are fully healthy in October.

“It’s impressive how far [Sánchez] has come,” Thomson said. “He’d be a number one on a lot of teams.”