The Philadelphia Phillies completed a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres last Wednesday behind another dominant start from Cristopher Sánchez.
The left-hander did not allow a run in seven innings of work, which extended his scoreless streak to 44.2. That is a new Phillies franchise record, surpassing Hall of Famer Grover Alexander’s previous mark of 41 innings in 1911.
Sánchez additionally joined Los Angeles Dodgers legend Orel Hershiser (September 1988) as the only two pitchers to go an entire calendar month without allowing a run since 1913 (minimum 30 innings pitched). Hershiser did not allow a run in 55 innings, while Sánchez held opponents scoreless over 39 frames.
Sánchez’s single-season scoreless streak of 44.2 innings is currently seventh-longest in MLB history, trailing only Hershiser (59 innings in 1988), Don Drysdale (58 innings in 1968), Bob Gibson (57 innings in 1968), Zack Greinke (45.2 innings in 2015), Carl Hubbell (45.1 innings in 1933) and Sal Maglie (45 innings in 1950).
Sánchez has now strung together five consecutive scoreless outings of at least seven innings, which is tied with Brandon Webb (2007), Gibson (1968) and Doc White (1904) for the second most in MLB history. Only Hershiser and Drysdale (six each) have more such outings.
Cristopher Sánchez’s 2026 season
Sánchez improved to 6-2 with an MLB-best 1.47 ERA, 1.81 FIP, 1.12 WHIP and 10.8 strikeouts per nine in 79.1 innings across 12 starts this season. He is among the favorites to win the National League Cy Young Award in what could be one of the closest races ever.
Shohei Ohtani, who is one inning away from qualifying for the MLB lead, owns a minuscule 0.82 ERA in nine starts this year. The Milwaukee Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski, Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds ace Chase Burns have also pitched well enough to receive consideration.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has said he believes Ohtani is motivated this season to become the first Japanese pitcher to ever win a Cy Young Award.
Sánchez finished second for the honor behind Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates last season despite not being named to the NL All-Star team. That figures to be a formality this year with the 2026 Midsummer Classic being held at the Phillies’ Citizens Bank Park.
After beginning the season with a 9-19 record, the Phillies are 20-8 since replacing manager Rob Thomson with interim Don Mattingly. Philadelphia is eyeing their fifth consecutive playoff appearance since winning the NL pennant in 2022.
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