Phillies, Guardians Starting Pitchers Made History in Duel

Opposing him, Williams was even more dominant. He also threw eight shutout innings, allowing only four hits and not issuing a single walk, while racking up 11 strikeouts with 99 pitches thrown.

As shared by OptaSTATS on X, the ace starting pitchers combined to do something that has never been accomplished before. Since 1988, when pitches were first tracked, there had never been a game in which both starters went 8+ innings, allowed zero runs, struck out 6+ batters and threw fewer than 100 pitches, before Sanchez and Williams did it.

It was a truly special evening for a pitching enthusiast, watching two of the game’s best go toe-to-toe against each other in Game 1 of the series. It was a shame that one of them wasn’t going to come away with the victory because both of them certainly deserved a win on their record.

This season, Williams has made 11 starts, which is the most in baseball. His seven wins, 69.1 innings pitched and 84 strikeouts are all the best in the American League entering play on May 24. He also has a 3.25 ERA, 126 ERA+ and 3.35 FIP, with a 1.6 bWAR.

Sanchez has also made 11 starts, and leads the MLB with a 3.7 bWAR, one complete game, one shutout, 72.1 innings pitched and 296 batters faced. His 1.62 ERA, 264 ERA+ and 1.96 FIP are all tops in the National League.

Both players are putting together Cy Young Award-caliber campaigns and will be in the running for the prestigious award. They could also face off again against each other as starters for their respective leagues in the 2026 MLB All-Star Game, which will be played in Philadelphia.