Phillies’ Cristopher Sanchez approaching incredible Philadelphia history after gem vs. Gurdians

Philadelphia Phillies ace Cristopher Sanchez continued his historic stretch after another overpowering outing against the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park.

Sanchez pitched 8.0 scoreless innings in a 1-0 loss, allowing just 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6 batters on 96 pitches. The performance extended his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 37.2 innings, the second-longest such run in Philadelphia history since 1893 when the mound was moved to its current distance.

With that mark, Sanchez moved past Cliff Lee, who held the previous second-best streak for the Phillies at 34 straight scoreless innings in 2011. He also surpassed Larry Andersen (32 2/3 innings), Turk Farrell (32 2/3), Hall of Famer Robin Roberts (32), Ranger Suarez (32), and Ken Heintzelman (32).

Only Grover Cleveland Alexander sits ahead of Sanchez in franchise history, having thrown 41 consecutive scoreless innings in 1911. Sanchez entered Friday at 29.2 scoreless innings after his previous start and has now reached 37.2. He is now within striking distance of Alexander, needing just 3.2 more scoreless innings to break the record.

The streak began after Sanchez last allowed a run on April 30 against the San Francisco Giants, when he gave up 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks over 6.2 innings in a 3-2 Phillies win. Since then, he has produced multiple impressive performances, including 24 shutout innings over his next three appearances and 32 scoreless innings across his last four starts with 36 strikeouts and just 3 walks.

Sanchez has also become the first Philadelphia pitcher since Clayton Kershaw in 2015 to record four consecutive starts of at least 7.0 innings without allowing a run. During that stretch, he has not allowed a baserunner to reach second base in his latest gem.

On the season, Sanchez owns a 1.62 ERA with a 1.15 WHIP over 72.1 innings and 86 strikeouts, building off his 2025 campaign when he finished as NL Cy Young runner-up.

Despite his brilliance, the Phillies were held scoreless by Cleveland starter Gavin Williams, who worked 8.0 innings with 4 hits allowed and 11 strikeouts. The Guardians ultimately won after Jhoan Duran surrendered a pinch-hit home run to Kyle Manzardo in the ninth inning.

Looking ahead, Sanchez is slated to face the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, continuing his historic pursuit, with Orel Hershiser’s all-time MLB scoreless streak of 59 innings (1988) still out of reach.

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