Phillies’ All-Star starter suffers early injury vs. Mets

Following the news that Ranger Suarez is close to returning to the Philadelphia Phillies’ starting pitching rotation, another All-Star left-hander might have just sustained an injury. Cristopher Sanchez exited Tuesday night’s road game versus the New York Mets due to forearm soreness, via Matt Gelb of The Athletic.

The 28-year-old labored on the mound, allowing two runs on two hits while walking two batters in two innings of work. He threw 58 pitches, with only 33 of them registering as strikes. Considering his control issues, along with a slight dip in velocity, it makes sense that Sanchez was not feeling right.

Any arm-related injury is going to induce anxiety among fans, as pitcher remains the most hazardous position in baseball (catcher is up there too, of course). Hopefully, the southpaw gets an encouraging update later this week. He owns a 3.42 ERA with 33 strikeouts in five outings this season.

When the Phillies (13-10) have their full compliment of hurlers, they arguably boast MLB’s deepest rotation. When injuries plague the starting staff, more responsibilities are placed on the bullpen’s shoulders. While he will not admit it, that is not a scenario manager Rob Thomson wants to see play out.

Phillies rely heavily on their starter depth

Despite president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski’s efforts to upgrade the pen, the unit continues to stumble. Before Tuesday’s National League East clash, Philadelphia relievers collectively had a 5.80 ERA, which is the second-worst in MLB.

They are getting the job done in this game, though. The Mets (16-7) lead the Phillies 2-1 in the seventh inning at time of print. Thomson will look to his star-laden lineup to propel the ballclub to a divisional victory, which would salvage an evening that started on a rough note.

Overcoming adversity, even in April, can give teams something to build on as the season progresses. Gaining on first-place New York and avoiding a three-game losing skid would obviously help as well.