ST. PETERSBURG -- The Phillies are a star-laden team, but you don’t string together a historic winning streak without help from some of the more unsung members of your roster.

It was those types of contributions that helped the Phillies complete a three-game sweep of the Rays at Tropicana Field on Thursday night in 11 innings. The 3-1 win was Philadelphia’s 12th straight on the road, which is one shy of the franchise record in the Modern Era (since 1901). That 13-game run was achieved in 1976, when the Phils won 101 games and the National League East before being swept in the NL Championship Series by the Reds.

This most recent series against a Rays club (57-33) with the best record in the American League could have been seen as a measuring stick for the Phillies (47-39). Just don’t tell them that.

“Not a single guy in here needs a measuring stick,” reliever Matt Strahm said. “We know what we’ve got. We know what we’re capable of.”

The Phillies know what they have in No. 5 starting pitcher Cristopher Sánchez and first baseman Darick Hall, too. Both came through Thursday, beginning with Sánchez’s second consecutive start with only one earned run allowed over six innings.

The left-hander was acquired from the Rays in a Minor League trade in 2019 for infielder Curtis Mead. At that stage, Sánchez was a completely different pitcher from the player who shut down his former club on this night.

“He was a hard-throwing 97, 98 [mph] guy,” manager Rob Thomson recalled. “But it was like buckshot; you didn’t know where it was going.”

Sánchez carried double-digit walk rates throughout much of his Minor League career, including this season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he walked 11.8 percent of the batters he faced (29 overall) in 49 2/3 innings. But his command has been on point through four starts since being recalled June 17. Sánchez has issued only two walks in that span, including none to the Rays. He topped out at a modest 93.6 mph, but he kept Tampa Bay guessing as he leaned on his changeup and sinker. Sánchez threw 16 first-pitch strikes and needed only 75 pitches (51 strikes) to get through six frames.

“As a pitcher, yeah, I am different from the pitcher I was a couple of years ago, because I think I’m more mature now,” Sánchez said via translator Diego Ettedgui. “I have matured as a pitcher. When you have a little more experience, it helps.”

Thomson lauded the 26-year-old’s outing as “incredible.”

“I thought the changeup was excellent. All of his secondary pitchers were good. He just kept them off-balance all night,” the manager added. “It was really impressive.”

The game was scoreless into the fifth before Hall, in just his fourth game since being recalled following a two-month absence due to a sprained right thumb, socked a solo homer into the right-field seats off left-hander Jake Diekman. It was Hall’s first home run of the year and the first extra-base hit of his big league career in a lefty-on-lefty matchup. He entered with two hits in 19 at-bats and nine strikeouts against southpaws.

“That’s why he’s here -- to hit that home run,” shortstop Trea Turner said. “I really like his swing. His at-bats are really good. Coming back from injury is never easy, so just to see him have success in a big moment like that is really nice. He’s a great dude, great teammate.”

The lead was short-lived as Sánchez’s only blemish -- a solo home run to Isaac Paredes -- tied the game in the bottom of the fifth. But the starter was able to post another zero before handing the game over to the Phillies’ bullpen, which continued its marvelous work, both during this winning streak and for the season overall.

Four relievers combined for five hitless innings, including two from Strahm to close out the contest in the 11th after Kyle Schwarber and Turner broke the deadlock with RBI singles.

Philadelphia’s ‘pen is tied for seventh in the Majors with a 3.78 ERA for the year. Since June 13, when the team began stacking up win after win away from home, that group has posted a 1.91 ERA with 51 strikeouts and seven walks.

“That’s no surprise for us,” Strahm said. “... What we have down there is something special.”

The Phillies are obviously on a special run right now. How have they done it?

“I have no idea. I really don’t,” Thomson said. “We’re just playing good baseball.”

There is obviously more than one right answer. It’s strong starting pitching mixed with quality at-bats plus a shutdown relief corps. Different players are stepping up on different nights, and it has infused a belief inside the clubhouse that this team can beat anyone right now.

As Thomson said following this latest victory over a division leader, “Yeah, they’re a good team. But we’re pretty good, too.”