Cristopher Sanchez pulled after five solid innings, Phillies bullpen coughs up two-run lead in 3-2 loss to the Fish

The Philadelphia Phillies fell to the Miami Marlins last night in a frustrating 3-2 loss at Citizens Bank Park.

Cristopher Sanchez was on the mound for the Phillies and pitched very well, tossing five strong innings, allowing just four hits, zero earned runs, and a walk while striking out four. Sanchez retired five straight Marlins before Rob Thomson made the decision to pull him after just 82 pitches thrown.

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Nothing is more frustrating than the way Thomson handles Cristopher Sanchez.

Honestly, it really doesn’t even make sense at this point.

Time and time again we are watching Sanchez get pulled earlier than expected in baseball games because Topper and the Phillies coaching staff don’t like what they see from Sanchez after what’s typically the fifth inning.

Here’s a chart of Cristopher Sanchez’s starts this season.

Cristopher Sanchez 2023 Season

Keep in mind that Sanchez is a 5th or 6th starter in this rotation. Outside of the Kansas City Royals start on August 5th when he allowed six earned runs, he hasn’t even let up more than four total earned runs in any appearance.

Looking at the numbers, Sanchez’s best starts this year are the ones where he pitched at minimum six innings, right? Am I going crazy? This seems like bad management. There isn’t even enough “data” to show that Sanchez falls off after five innings. Sorry Topper. We’ll just leave it at that for now.

The Phillies held a 2-0 lead through the first five innings last night. Trea Turner got them on the board in the bottom of the first inning with hit a solo home run to left field.

Trea Turner Solo Home Run

Trea Turner is ELITE

Trea Turner extended his overall hit-streak to 16 games. He has now tied Cesar Hernandez for the longest home hitting streak at Citizens Bank Park at 20 games. Trea has 8 home runs over his past eight games, while batting .406 with 6 home runs and 14 RBI over his last seven games.

Over the last 30 games, Turner is batting .369 with 13 home runs and 34 RBI. He has managed to raise his season batting average to .265 on the year, while hitting a total of 23 home runs with 68 RBI. Turner is also a perfect 26-for-26 stealing bases.

Feel free to credit the standing ovations back in early August. Whatever works. Just know that this is the Trea Turner that Major League Baseball fans have witnessed over the past 8-years before he arrived in Philadelphia. Incredible turnaround.

Bullpen Blues

Bryce Harper gave the Phillies a 2-0 lead on an RBI single that scored Turner in the bottom of the third inning. Sanchez was removed after five innings and handed the game over to Seranthony Dominguez, who lasted just 0.2 innings, allowing two hits, two earned runs and walk.

The Marlins tied the game 2-2 on a pinch-hit 2-run home run from Jesus Sanchez in the sixth off Dominguez and took the lead on a solo home run in the seventh courtesy of Jacob Stallings off Matt Strahm.

Ball Game: Phillies Lose 3-2 to the Marlins.

Phillies Hunt for Red October

The Phillies hold a 2-game lead over the Chicago Cubs, who have lost two straight games, for the top NL Wild Card spot. The D-Backs, winners of three straight, hold on to the third and final ticket to the post season, four games back from the Phillies and a half-game up on the Miami Marlins, who are on the outside looking in.