Cristopher Sánchez throws complete game as Phillies top Nationals 5-1

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cristopher Sánchez pitched his second complete game of the season, and the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Washington Nationals 5-1 on Saturday night.

Sánchez faced two batters over the minimum, allowing two hits. The only blemish in his outing was a solo homer by Alex Call to lead off the fourth inning.

He recorded 15 ground ball outs, which is tied for the most by a Phillies pitcher in a single game since Statcast began tracking data in 2008.

Sánchez (9-8) struck out four and did not issue a walk as he picked up his ninth win of the season after losing four of his previous five decisions.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson said the club’s pitching coaches had identified that Sanchez was throwing from a lower arm slot in his starts since the All-Star break. They made an adjustment this week during his bullpen session and the results were fruitful.

“I’m going to say that was 95% (of it) but it wasn’t only because of that,” Sánchez said through an interpreter. “(But) thank you to the pitching coaches who saw that and told me you are lowering your arm a little bit. Let’s work on getting it back where it needs to be. Thanks to that we had the results that we did today.”

Sánchez was incredibly efficient, throwing just 99 pitches to complete the game. His previous complete game was a shutout against Miami on June 28.

He joined Atlanta’s Max Fried and Toronto’s Kevin Gausman as the only pitchers in the majors to throw two complete games this season.

The game took just two hours and six minutes. It was the fastest game of the season at Citizens Bank Park. Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto knew early on that it could be a quick and successful night with the way Sanchez was pitching.

“We got through three innings, and I felt like we were out there for five minutes on defense,” Realmuto said. “It definitely happened quickly. He just continued to pound the strike zone. He made them put the ball in play early — and that’s a lineup that’s tough to get through. For him to be able to pitch so deep in the game with such a low pitch count, that’s impressive.”

The Phillies won their fourth straight and regained their spot atop the majors with the best record in baseball (73-50). They will go for a four-game sweep of the Nationals on Sunday.

Every player in Philadelphia’s lineup had at least one hit except for Bryce Harper. Weston Wilson had two hits and a run scored and Nick Castellanos had two hits and an RBI.

After having a hard time figuring out Washington starter Mackenzie Gore (7-11) in the first five innings, the Phillies got to him in the sixth with four runs on five hits.

Alec Bohm, Realmuto, Edmundo Sosa and Johan Rojas all had RBI singles in the sixth for Philadelphia.

Bohm extended his on-base streak to 34 games when he drew a walk in the fourth inning. He scored on a double by Castellanos.

Washington has lost four straight and seven of their last 10.

“Our offense didn’t show up today and we couldn’t get anything going,” Nationals manager Davey Martinez said.

The game started 30 minutes later than scheduled because the Phillies honored their late owner, president, and CEO David Montgomery by placing him on their Wall of Fame.

As part of the ceremony, they renamed a portion of the center field wall after him, calling it “Monty’s Angle” because of how it juts into the field of play. It was Montgomery’s idea to include it as an homage to Connie Mack Stadium, the Phillies’ home until 1971. A permanent logo was unveiled on the wall to commemorate the name.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Nationals: Washington selected the contract of LHP Joe La Sorsa and recalled RHP Joan Adon from Triple-A Rochester. The moves were needed as LHP Robert Garcia was placed on the Bereavement List and RHP Derek Law was added to the 15-day IL with a right elbow flexor strain.

Phillies: Philadelphia selected the contract of LHP Tyler Gilbert from Triple-A Lehigh Valley and optioned RHP Tyler Phillips. To make room for Gilbert, they transferred RHP Spencer Turnbull (right lat strain) to the 60-day IL. Gilbert, who threw a no-hitter in his first MLB start in 2021 with Arizona, was originally a Phillies draft pick in 2015, but never pitched for the team.

The Nationals and Phillies wrap up their four-game series Sunday. RHP Jake Irvin (9-10, 3.72) will take the mound for Washington against Taijuan Walker (3-4, 5.68) for Philadelphia.

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