06/03/26 09:47:00
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06/03 21:45 CDT Phillies ace Snchez's scoreless streak ends at 50 2/3 innings,
3rd-longest in more than a century
Phillies ace Snchez's scoreless streak ends at 50 2/3 innings, 3rd-longest in
more than a century
By DAN GELSTON
AP Sports Writer
PHILADELPHIA (AP) --- Cristopher Snchez finally allowed a run after 663
pitches, 190 batters faced and 50 2/3 scoreless innings --- a feat that placed
the Phillies' ace among Hall of Fame company.
After a run scored against the left-hander for the first time since late April,
more than 40,000 fans at Citizens Bank Park stood and gave him an ovation that
lasted more than a minute. Yes, those Phillies fans were cheering after a run
was scored against the home team.
Snchez held his stern demeanor for as long as he could, wanting to throw the
next pitch. Finally, he cracked a smile. He raised his cap, wiped his forehead
and Phillies fans and his teammates kept applauding Snchez, celebrating a rare
milestone in baseball history.
"It was a big moment, a huge moment for me," Snchez said through an
interpreter. "I think that I just had to do something for the fans and react to
the love that they brought it."
Snchez pushed his consecutive shutout innings streak to just short of 51
innings Wednesday night before allowing a two-out RBI single to San Diego's
Jackson Merrill in the seventh and earned the win after J.T. Realmuto and Kyle
Schwarber homered in the seventh inning, leading the Phillies to a 3-2 victory
over the Padres.
"It's something I never imagined in my life that I would do," Snchez said.
Snchez's streak ranked as the third-best overall dating to the start of the
Live Ball Era in 1920 behind the Los Angeles Dodgers' Orel Hershiser, with a
record 59 straight scoreless innings in 1988, and Don Drysdale with 58 in 1968.
He struck out San Diego's Fernando Tatis Jr. and set the Padres down in order
in the first to pass Carl Hubbell at 45 1/3 innings and become the career
leader among left-handers.
Snchez breezed through six scoreless innings before Ty France doubled with two
out in the seventh. Lefty-swinging Merrill then punched a single to left that
accounted for the only run allowed by Snchez in more than a month.
"I know my vocabulary is probably not good enough for him right now," Phillies
interim manager Don Mattingly said. "You could feel it every inning, they knew
exactly what was going on."
Snchez also passed Sal Maglie, Zack Greinke, and Bob Gibson on the shutout
streak list since 1920. He surpassed Gibson's 47 consecutive shutout innings in
the same 1968 season as Drysdale, dubbed the year of the pitcher.
Snchez --- throwing a changeup that averages 86.5 mph and holding hitters to a
.153 average --- hadn't been in any serious jeopardy of allowing a run since
permitting two runs in the first inning of a 3-2 Phillies win over the Giants
on April 30.
He worked seven shutout innings in his last start against the Padres to eclipse
the Phillies' franchise record of 41 innings, set in 1911 by Grover Cleveland
Alexander.
"You don't get to see things like this very often," Mattingly said. "It's one
of those things that's not happened very often. It's hard to categorize it. I
don't know if I've seen anything that's really been better than this."
Snchez, who had had thrown at least seven shutout innings in five straight
starts, struck out eight. He improved to 7-2 and lowered his ERA to an MLB-best
1.46.
Snchez was named NL pitcher of the month for May earlier Wednesday. He went
4-0 and struck out 45 --- with only three walks --- over 39 innings in the
month.
"It's pretty cool what he's doing," Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper said.
"Lot of punch-outs, as well, so that helps us on defense."
Snchez also set a Citizens Bank Park scoreless streak record at 34 2/3
innings, topping Cliff Lee (29 innings) and Roy Halladay (33) and he became the
second pitcher this season to reach 100 strikeouts.
Snchez was the NL Cy Young Award runner-up in 2025 when he went 13-5 with a
2.50 ERA and struck out 212 in 202 innings. He signed with the Tampa Bay Rays
as an international free agent in 2013 and was traded to the Phillies six years
later for infielder Curtis Mead in a little-noticed offseason transaction. He
made his big-league debut in 2021.
"I remember they were talking about releasing him in 2020," Harper said. "I've
seen it from the jump, just kind of the way he approaches it. Just super
special."
Drysdale threw a major-league record six straight shutouts as part of his
streak from May 14- June 8, 1968. Hershiser pitched six scoreless starts in
September 1988 as part of his record-breaking streak. Hershiser, now a
broadcaster for the Dodgers, said last week he was fine if Snchez broke his
record.
"I'm pulling for anybody to have a life-changing moment," said Hershiser, who
still holds the record.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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