Cristopher Sanchez throws eight scoreless, Duran coughs one up in Phillies 1-0 loss to the Guardians

Cristopher Sanchez threw eight innings of shutout baseball Friday night at Citizens Bank Park. He allowe four hits and two walks while striking out six to go along with 22 swings and misses.

His scoreless innings streak now stands at 37 2/3 innings, the second-longest in Phillies franchise history behind Grover Cleveland Alexander’s 41 straight in 1911. He could set the all-time club record in his next start.

The Phillies lost 1-0 because the offense couldn’t give him a single run.

Eight shutout innings from Cristopher Sanchez, who is pitching the best baseball of any starter in the National League and the lineup produced absolutely nothing for him. It was a tough one, to say the least.

Cristopher Sanchez: 72.1 IP | 1.62 ERA | 86 K’s | 1.97 FIP

Cristopher Sanchez’s scoreless streak is now up to 37.2 IP🤯

72.1 IP | 1.62 ERA | 86 K’s | 1.97 FIP

Every whiff and called strike from his incredible 8 shutout innings vs the Guardians tonight:pic.twitter.com/ZbzLcZGzlc

— Baseball Performances (@MLBPerformances) May 23, 2026

The Phillies mustered just four hits against Cleveland starter Gavin Williams. Cristopher Sanchez was perfect and it didn’t matter because the bats went completely silent on a night where one run would have been enough.

Kyle Manzardo, a pinch-hitter swinging from the left side, came off the bench and crushed a first-pitch splitter from Jhoan Duran at 97 mph out to left field with one out in the ninth for the game’s only run.

That’s how the Phillies lost.

Their closer gave up a pinch-hit homer to end a game where their starter threw eight scoreless. Duran said after the game he was disappointed he didn’t come through for his teammate and fellow Dominican.

Yeah, well, Duran should be disappointed, but the real disappointment is an offense that watched Cristopher Sanchez dominate for eight innings and couldn’t scratch out a single run to give him a lead to protect.

Cristopher Sanchez is Chasing History

37 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings. The only Phillies pitcher to ever throw more consecutive scoreless frames was Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1911. That was 115 years ago.

Cristopher Sanchez is four innings away from owning the franchise record outright. He leads the National League with a 1.62 ERA through 11 starts. He hasn’t allowed a run in four starts this month. His changeup and slider are generating swings and misses at a rate that makes professional hitters look helpless.

Sanchez had 11 whiffs on the changeup Friday, with nine on the slider alone to bring that total to 22 swings and misses over eight innings of work. The man is pitching at a historically elite level for this franchise and the Phillies are losing his starts because the offense can’t produce a run.

That’s inexcusable.

When your starter gives you eight shutout innings, you win that game. Period. There’s no acceptable reason for an offense with Schwarber, Harper, Turner, and the rest of this lineup to put up a zero across eight innings.

Williams Was Outstanding Too

Credit where it’s due. Gavin Williams was every bit as dominant as Sanchez. Eight shutout innings, four hits allowed, zero walks, 11 strikeouts, 17 swings and misses with 10 on his sweeper. The Phillies ran into a buzzsaw on the other side and the pitching matchup turned into one of the best duels of the season in any ballpark. Two starters trading zeroes for eight innings, both leaving with the game scoreless, both deserving of the win.

Williams got the win because his bullpen held. Sanchez got the loss because his didn’t. That’s the cruel math of a 1-0 game and Sanchez deserved a hell of a lot better than what he got from the guys standing behind him with bats in their hands.

Mattingly Made the Right Call Pulling Sanchez

Sanchez finished the eighth at 96 pitches. He threw 108 in his previous start when he completed the shutout against the Pirates. Mattingly went to Duran for the ninth. That’s the right call. You don’t push a pitcher chasing a franchise scoreless innings record past 100 pitches when you have a closer throwing 97 mph available in the bullpen. Duran is supposed to be the guy who closes these games. The pinch-hit homer was a bad pitch on a bad sequence but the decision to go to Duran was the correct one.

Sanchez shouldn’t have been in a position where one pitch in the ninth inning determined whether he got the loss. The offense should have given him a lead at some point during the eight innings where he was mowing down the Cleveland lineup. They didn’t. That’s on the bats. Not on Mattingly. Not on Duran. The bats.

The Scoreless Streak Continues

The loss hurts but the streak lives. 37 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings. Four more and Sanchez passes Grover Cleveland Alexander for the longest scoreless stretch in Phillies history.

Cristopher Sanchez lines up to get that chance in his next start and every person in this city should be rooting for him to get there because what Sanchez is doing right now is genuinely historic. A 1.62 ERA through 11 starts.

The best pitcher in the National League. Possibly the best pitcher in baseball.

The offense owes him a crooked number next time he takes the mound. Eight shutout innings deserves a win. Give the man some runs.

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