Phillies' Cristopher Sanchez found his historical outing 'special'

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Phillies' Cristopher Sanchez found his historical outing 'special' originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Coming into Wednesday, Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sanchez carried a scoreless streak, approaching Phillies Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland "Pete" Alexander's franchise record of 41.0 innings, which had stood for 115 years. In May, Sanchez was masterful, and in his final outing of the month, he carved up the San Diego Padres and surpassed Ole Pete for the most scoreless innings in franchise history.

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When Sanchez retired the side in the fourth inning against the Padres, he officially surpassed Alexander for the most scoreless innings in franchise history, extending it to 44.2 innings (on going). The former All-Star (2024) tossed seven innings, allowing six hits and striking out nine on 100 pitches (67 strikes). 

Wednesday's outing marked the third start in May in which Sanchez didn't issue a walk, with the 29-year-old issuing three free passes this month. Sanchez came close to losing his scoreless streak twice, with third baseman Manny Machado making two loud outs to left field in the fourth and sixth innings. 

Cristopher Sanchez was happy to share his "special" moment with his Philadelphia Phillies teammates

Sanchez, a humble player, said he found it "special" to share his historical outing with his teammates, calling them a "tremendous group." 

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“It was incredible,” Sánchez said postgame to MLB.com's Paul Casella. “It's really special what we have here as a group, as an organization as a whole -- the players, the staff, the medical staff. So it's just really special to share things like this with this tremendous group that we have here.”

Sanchez is one of the front-runners to win the National League Cy Young Award, and his outing against the Padres proves why he can dethrone Pittsburgh Pirates ace, right-hander Paul Skenes. Sanchez is also making a strong case to be the National League's starting pitcher for this summer's All-Star game, which will be held in Philadelphia on Tuesday, July 14. 

Now that Sanchez has surpassed Alexander, he will try to carve his name into the history books of the major leagues as he goes for Los Angeles Dodgers great Orel Hershiser's record (59.0 innings). If Sanchez can throw one more complete frame in his next start, he will leapfrog three players: right-hander Zack Greinke (45.2 innings pitched in 2015), left-hander and screwball master Carl Hubbell (45.1 innings pitched in 1933) and right-hander Sal Maglie (45 innings pitched in 1950).  

Sanchez and Hershiser are the only two pitchers in Major League Baseball history to not allow an earned run in a calendar month.

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