Cristopher Sánchez shoves, Schwarber ties Ohtani as Phillies blank Tigers 2-0

The Phillies closed out their weekend series against the Tigers on Sunday night with the exact kind of performance you want to see in August, with dominant starting pitching, shutdown bullpen work, and a Schwarbomb for good measure.

Cristopher Sánchez was the star, tossing eight scoreless innings in a gem that kept Detroit guessing all night. He gave up just five hits, struck out six, and walked one, allowing only a single baserunner to even sniff third base.

That’s now 10 of his last 11 starts going at least six innings with two or fewer runs allowed. Quietly? He’s been pitching like a front-line starter for months.

Jhoan Duran came in for the ninth and slammed the door, striking out Riley Greene with a 102.5 mph fastball to end it. That’s two saves in a Phillies uniform already for the newly-acquired flamethrower, and 18 on the season overall.

Jhoan Duran x THE DURANTULA

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WATCH: Jhoan Duran threw nothing but gas to seal the win for the Phillies in the 9th inning

Kyle Schwarber Ties Ohtani

Kyle Schwarber gave everyone at Citizens Bank Park the insurance run they wanted, mashing his 38th homer of the season 435 feet to dead center in the eighth. That shot tied him with Shohei Ohtani for the NL lead and gave him 15 home runs against lefties this season, the most in baseball and matching his career high.

KYLE SCHWARBER 💣#RingTheBell | #Phillies pic.twitter.com/x591eLra6j

— The Liberty Line (@LibertyLinePHL) August 4, 2025

Max Kepler knocked in the first run of the game with a groundout in the second, but this one was all about pitching and defense.

Key Moment

In the seventh, the Tigers threatened with Jahmai Jones trying to score on an Andy Ibáñez grounder. Edmundo Sosa fielded it clean and fired home, cutting Jones down to preserve the shutout. That was Detroit’s last real scoring chance of the night.

The Standings

With the win, the Phillies took two of three from the Tigers and jumped back into first place in the NL East, sitting a half-game ahead of the Mets.

Back at it tonight at The Bank vs the O’s

The Phillies turn to Jesús Luzardo (9-5, 4.31 ERA) on Monday night when the Orioles come to town. Baltimore counters with lefty Cade Povich (2-5, 5.15 ERA).

The Fightins need some separation in the standings. Too much flip-flopping with the Mets. Time to create some distance. No better time than against a bad Orioles team at home. Ring it.

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