The Philadelphia Phillies have a rich history that spans over a century and left-hander Cristopher Sánchez etched his name into those record books on Wednesday.
During Philadelphia’s matchup against the San Diego Padres, Sanchez pitched seven scoreless innings and brought his streak of scoreless innings up to 44⅔ innings.
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In doing so, he surpassed Grover Cleveland Alexander’s 41-inning streak in 1911 as the longest streak of scoreless innings pitched in team history.
Wednesday’s outing also made Sanchez just the second starting pitcher to go an entire calendar month without allowing a run since 1913, joining Orel Hershiser, who did so in Sept. 1988.
Across 39 innings in May, Sanchez struck out 45 batters, walked three while allowing zero runs.
Philadelphia wasn’t on fire at the plate Wednesday, but Sanchez’s pitching ensured that they didn’t need to be. The Phillies led 2-0 when Sanchez was relieved and went on to win the matchup 3-0.
His scoreless streak ranks seventh on the following all-time list among MLB pitchers:
- Orel Hershiser, Dodgers: 59 innings
- Don Drysdale, Dodgers: 58 innings
- Bob Gibson, Cardinals: 47 innings
- Zack Greinke, Dodgers: 45 ⅔ innings
- Carl Hubbell, Giants: 45 ⅓ innings
- Sal Maglie, Giants: 45 innings
- Cristopher Sánchez, Phillies: 44 ⅔ innings (active)
- Zac Gallen, Diamondbacks: 44 ⅓ innings
- Brandon Webb, D-backs: 42 innings
- Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers: 41 innings
As last year’s NL Cy Young runner-up, Sanchez is making a strong case to win it this season, with some incredible history to boot.
James Parker is a sports writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
