Cristopher Sanchez dominates, Harper homers twice in Phillies 9-1 route of the Athletics
The Phillies beat the Athletics 9-1 and are now 7-1 under Don Mattingly.
Cristopher Sanchez threw eight innings of one-run ball on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park, struck out 10 batters, and nine of those strikeouts came on his changeup.
The starting rotation has posted a 1.60 ERA during that stretch. I’ve been telling everyone for weeks that this team was too talented to keep losing and the pitching was going to come around. Nobody wanted to hear it when the record was 9-19 but they’re hearing it now.
The Changeup Is the Best Pitch in Baseball Right Now
I’ve been saying all season that Sanchez is pitching like the second-best starter in baseball. Tuesday night is exhibit A for anyone who still hasn’t figured that out.
His changeup is borderline illegal at this point. Entering Tuesday, hitters had a .142 average against it with a 48.4 percent whiff rate.
Against an Oakland lineup with seven right-handed hitters, Sanchez got to throw it whenever he wanted and the A’s had absolutely no answer.
He threw the changeup 44 percent of the time, landed it for strikes at a 67 percent clip, and generated 16 whiffs for a 70 percent swing-and-miss rate. Seven out of every 10 swings at that pitch missed the baseball entirely. That’s not pitching. That’s cruelty.
Sanchez used it early in counts going 5-for-6 on first-pitch strikes with it. He used it to put hitters away, recording nine of his 10 strikeouts with it.
When the A’s put two runners on in the seventh and had a chance to make it a game, Sanchez struck out Soderstrom on the changeup, got a one-pitch groundout, and then struck out Hernaiz on the changeup to end the inning.
He roared walking off the mound because that’s what you do when you’re throwing a pitch that hitters know is coming and still can’t put a bat on.
If anyone out there can find a single pitch in Major League Baseball right now that is more dominant than Cristopher Sanchez’s changeup, I’d love to see it because I’ve been watching a lot of baseball and nothing comes close.
Cristopher Sanchez
Bryce Harper Heat Check
Bryce Harper went deep twice Tuesday night. Since April 6, he’s slashing .340/.435/.660 with seven home runs and 19 RBI. After Monday’s game he told the broadcast he still needs to get “better.” If this version of Bryce Harper isn’t good enough for Bryce Harper, the rest of the National League should be terrified of what’s coming next.
His chase rate is higher than he’d like at 36.3 percent, which he’s acknowledged as something he wants to clean up but he’s seeing more first-pitch strikes than ever and has been ruthlessly aggressive when pitchers enter the zone.
Harper’s in-zone contact rate is a career high. Both homers Tuesday came on pitches in the zone that he drove with authority. When Harper is sitting on strikes and not chasing, the power numbers take care of themselves. He’s been doing exactly that for a month now.
The Phillies need Harper playing at this level to climb back into the NL East race. He knows it. He’s delivering every night. He’s leading this team exactly the way the franchise player is supposed to and the results are speaking louder than anything anyone could say at a podium.
Bryce Harper Home Run No. 1
Bryce Harper Home Run No. 2
The Phillies nursed a 1-0 lead into the seventh inning and then erupted for seven runs in the final three frames.
Adolis Garcia hit a sac fly to score Turner who had doubled. With two outs, Marsh singled in a run, JT Realmuto ripped a two-run double to extend the lead.
JT Realmtuo
Bryson Stott hammered a two-run homer to blow it open, his third in the last 4 games.
Bryson Stott is on FIRE
That’s a different formula from the first-inning explosions the Phillies have been relying on. That’s a team that trusts its pitching to keep the game close and stays patient long enough for the offense to break through late. We’re talking sustainability for once, and it’s finally paying off.
Trea Turner TV
15-20. Seven of the Last Eight. Buckle Up.
The Phillies are 15-20 and still way behind Atlanta. No doubt about it, there’s a done of work to be done but its good to see the boys start to click.
This team was always too talented to be 9-19. They do need to win games against good baseball teams but the schedule is the schedule and right now, they are doing exactly what they are supposed to do by destroying bad baseball teams.
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I’m still not happy about this recent success, what’s good about success in this scenario? Someone please explain it to me. The way I see it, we’re currently 2nd among other shit teams, our team is aging fast, stuck in not great long-term contracts, overpaid a ton of people (Lizardo), and this team is not going to win anything. I want the world series, not a pathetic playoff run. Truth is this is what causes teams to be in limbo forever, no core change because the status quo fills seats and sells enough merch. Fire Dumbroski start doing what you can do to prep for a re-build once there’s more color on if there’s going to be a cap or not after the season. If this core were to win it all it would have happened already a few different times.