Philadelphia Phillies’ Christopher Sanchez delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
The Philadelphia Phillies will be relying on the arm of Christopher Sanchez to help get them to the World Series. If his regular season is any indication, he’s up to the challenge.
By Chris Murray
For the Philadelphia Sunday SUN
While the National League East champion Phillies would love to have the arm of Zach Wheeler, who is out for the upcoming to the 2025 World Series, they will definitely be in good hands with the left arm of Christopher Sanchez.
In the regular-season finale at Citizen’s Bank Park and throughout the season, Sanchez gave fans a demonstration of how dangerous the Phillies’ starting rotation is going to be in the postseason, especially when he takes the mound.
In his final tune-up for the postseason in the regular-season finale against the Minnesota Twins, Sanchez pitched five and two-thirds scoreless inning and finished his outing with eight strikeouts, zero walks and just hits allowed.
The Phillies (96-66) eventually won the game 2-1 in 10 game innings thanks to a sacrifice fly by Nick Castellanos that scored Harrison Bader from third. They will face either the Cincinnati Reds or the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series this Saturday or Sunday.
Even with Wheeler out, the Phillies are confident that Sanchez will be able to hold his own and then some during this season’s postseason run.
“Obviously, we miss Zach, and we miss him on the field, but Sanchez stepped up big,” said Phillies shortstop Trea Turner, who won the National League batting title. “This was a really special season for him, and we’re pretty lucky to have him, because he saved us big time last year and this year.”
Turner said players around the National League are in awe of Sanchez’s pitching ability.
“He’s special man,” Turner said. “You can talk to the guys on the other team, and you just hear them talk about him. We see it from our side, but you know when the other saying it, you know that it’s a big deal. He’s been really good for us and we’re going to need him.”
Sanchez, who is making a strong case for the National League Cy Young Award, has not allowed an earned run in his last 12 innings on the mound. He finished the regular season with 212 strikeouts and had a 13-5 record on the season.
“I think commanding the strike zone is the most special thing I was able to do this year,” Sanchez said through an interpreter. “It was about keep going in every outing, every day, every month and every year. I’m always looking to give that extra mile. I’m never satisfied with the performance. I’m always trying to get more out of it, and I was trying to push myself out.
Coming into 2025 MLB postseason, Sanchez is fifth in the league in strikeouts and is tied for first in the National League with 22 quality starts and he finished the season with a 2.50 earned run average.
He is the third left-handed pitcher in Phillies history with an ERA of 2.50 or lower to have 200 strikeouts and 200 innings pitched. Other Phillies pitchers who have accomplished this feat are Cliff Lee (2011) and Steve Carlton (1972 and 1980).
Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Sanchez’s evolution as a top starting pitcher has been in the making over the last two years and he’s become a solid starter.
“(Sanchez’s) development of the changeup, his command, the power, the poise. He’s a complete pitcher and that’s been an evolution over the last couple of years,” Thomson said. “When (Zach Wheeler) went down, we told everybody to be themselves and they were, especially Sanchez. He didn’t try to do too much. He went out there and did his business.”
While I don’t think he’s going to get past Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes to win the National League’s Cy Young Award, Sanchez’s arm will be important to the Phils run to postseason.
And that postseason starts on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park.
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