Welcome to the latest edition of the Phillies Beat newsletter. This version was written by Paul Casella, who has been based in Philadelphia since 2019 and covers the team alongside Todd Zolecki. |
PHILADELPHIA -- It's not easy to overshadow Cristopher Sánchez these days. But no one will blame you if you can't rattle off Sánchez's line from his latest outing on Friday night, when Bryce Harper hit for the cycle and Kyle Schwarber blasted three home runs -- including two in the same inning. Sánchez -- who, oh by the way, tossed six innings of one-run ball -- summed it up best. “They stole the show from me tonight,” a laughing Sánchez said afterward via team interpreter Diego D'Aniello. Make no mistake, though, Sánchez is still putting on quite a show of his own. |
The Phillies left-hander quietly reached the halfway mark of his season in that historic contest on Friday night -- and he's in some otherworldly company. Through 16 starts this season, Sánchez has a 1.80 ERA and 121 strikeouts over 105 innings. Only 10 other pitchers in MLB history have had an ERA of 1.80 or better and 120-plus strikeouts over at least 105 innings through their first 16 starts of a season. Here are the names on that list (asterisk indicates that pitcher won the Cy Young Award that season): • Justin Verlander (2018)
• Clayton Kershaw (2014*, '16)
• Pedro Martínez (1997*, 2000*)
• Randy Johnson (2000*)
• Roger Clemens (1997*)
• Dwight Gooden (1985*)
• Steve Carlton (1980*)
• Vida Blue (1971*)
• Sam McDowell (1968)
• Sandy Koufax (1963*, '66*) As if that list wasn't impressive enough, now consider the fact that Sánchez has walked only 20 batters this season. The only pitchers from that list to also have fewer than even 25 walks are Verlander, Kershaw and Martínez. |
So to recap, the only pitchers in MLB history to match Sánchez's ERA, strikeouts, walks and innings total through the first 16 starts of a season are a first-ballot Hall of Famer (Martínez) and two surefire Hall of Famers (Verlander and Kershaw). The other thing those three have in common: They are each a three-time Cy Young Award winner. Sánchez, who finished as the NL Cy Young runner-up to Paul Skenes last season, is in the hunt for his first career honor. And despite his historic start to the season, he's not even the front-runner for the NL Cy Young Award as things stand right now. That would be Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski, who leads the Majors in ERA, strikeouts, WHIP and opponents' average. |
Sánchez will continue his Cy Young chase on Thursday, when he takes the mound for the series finale against the Nationals in D.C. He has a 2.27 ERA in eight starts against the Nats over the past five seasons, though Washington does have the highest-scoring offense in the Majors this year. There is obviously plenty of time left for the Cy Young race to sort itself out. One thing is certain, though: If Sánchez's next 16 starts are anything like his first 16, he'll have put together one of the best pitching seasons in not just Phillies history -- but Major League history. |
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Harper made a trade of sorts following his first career cycle on Friday night. He sent his batting gloves from that game off to Cooperstown where they will be displayed at the Hall of Fame. In return, he got a series of mementos to remember his big night. By the time he got to the clubhouse following the game, the third base bag -- the one he stood upon while raising his arms to the sky after his two-run triple to complete the cycle -- was already waiting for him in his locker. Harper also got the ball from his anything-but-ordinary triple, one in which he blazed around the bases and slid into third while the throw -- fortunately for Harper -- went to the plate in an unsuccessful attempt to stop Schwarber from scoring. |
CYCLES AREN’T FOR EVERYONE |
Hitting for the cycle may be more common than some historic feats on the diamond, but it’s also as unpredictable as any. Sure, having a blend of speed and power certainly helps, but it essentially requires a perfect storm of events. That’s why it took Harper 1,861 games over 15 big league seasons to finally record his first career cycle. Harper has the power (379 career homers) and speed (157 stolen bases). The stars had just never aligned until Friday night. They never did for Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly, who did not hit for the cycle at any point over his 14-year career that included 1,785 games. He finished a triple shy of the cycle in 16 of those games. “Are you kidding me?” Mattingly quipped when asked if he ever hit for the cycle. “Triples didn't come very often. I turned a lot of triples into doubles.” Fittingly, Harper got his long-awaited cycle by turning a double into a triple and a single into a double. |
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