Cristopher Sanchez chasing down Phillies legend

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sanchez has been on a roll over his last five appearances.

Sanchez last allowed a run during the first inning of the Phillies game against the Giants on April 30, an eventual 3-2 Phillies victory. He ended the day having allowed those two runs on four hits and three walks, striking out seven over 6.2 innings. Sanchez has been dominant since, firing 24 shutout innings in his next three outings.

His dominance continued on Friday. Sanchez was in control for most of the game, allowing only four hits and two walks over eight shutout innings in the Phillies 1-0 loss to Cleveland. That performance gives Sanchez a 37.2 inning scoreless streak, second only to Hall of Famer Pete Alexander, who fired 41 consecutive scoreless innings in 1911.

Cristopher Sanchez proving stellar 2025 season not a fluke for Phillies

Alexander announced his presence with authority as a rookie during that 1911 season. He finished third in the MVP vote, leading the majors with 28 wins and seven shutouts. Overall, he posted a 2.57 ERA and a 1.128 WHiP over his league-leading 367 innings, striking out 227 batters.

Sanchez, the 2025 NL Cy Young Award runner-up, is building off of what appeared to be a career year. He has posted a 1.62 ERA and a 1.147 WHiP over 72.1 innings through Friday, striking out 86 batters with 16 walks.

Sanchez is currently slated to face the Padres on Wednesday. As the Padres entered Friday ranked 29th in the majors in OPS (.658) and 25th in runs scored (200), he may dethrone Alexander to carve his name into the Phillies record books.