Cristopher Sánchez has shown no signs of slowing down, evidenced by his consistent pitch velocity

The first and last pitches thrown by Cristopher Sánchez in his start on Monday were sinkers called for strikes.

Six innings and 90 other pitches separated the two fastballs in what ultimately was a 2-1 Phillies victory over the Rays. But what stuck out the most about them was that the final sinker Sánchez threw clocked 96.5 mph and was harder than his 95.5 mph first pitch.

In fact, it was the third-hardest pitch he threw all night.

Sánchez’s ability to maintain his velocity throughout his outings at this point in the season is even more significant considering his current workload, which is astronomically higher than anything he has experienced at the major league level.

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The lefty pitched 99⅓ innings in the regular season last year after being called up in June. Sánchez is already at 165 innings this season, with likely three turns in the rotation left before the postseason, when he figures to be a major component as the Phillies’ No. 4 starter.

That also will be a new experience for him, as Sánchez only has 2⅓ innings of postseason baseball under his belt, all in one appearance in Game 4 of the 2023 National League Championship Series.

“He’s got a rubber arm,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “He’s in tremendous shape, and he’s a lot stronger than he’s ever been. Our strength and conditioning and our nutrition people have really done a good job, and he’s done a good job maintaining his weight, and that’s a huge deal for him.”

The conditioning work has been paying dividends in his first full season as a member of an MLB rotation. Monday marked Sánchez’s 16th quality start of the year, which is the most by a Phillies lefty since Cole Hamels posted 25 in the 2014 season.

When Sánchez was in the minors last year, the Phillies put him on a program in which he scaled back his velocity to focus on improving his command. It was successful and helped his meteoric rise to a become a key rotation piece who signed a four-year, $22.5 million contract extension this June.

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But this season, Sánchez has found a balance between the two. His sinker averages 94.5 mph, an uptick from 92.1 mph last season, and his command has not suffered. Sánchez issued only one walk on Monday, marking his 11th start in a row in which he has allowed two or fewer walks. His walk rate of 5.4% ranks in the 88th percentile of all MLB pitchers.

“I prepared for this. This is not a coincidence,” Sánchez said Monday. “This is a product of hard work, and I’m just here to compete every five days, and I’ll keep doing that.”

J.T. Realmuto was out of the lineup for the fourth straight game on Tuesday with a bruised left knee, but Thomson said he feels “a lot better.” He ran, played catch, and hit in the batting cages. Thomson said Realmuto could return for the Mets series, which starts on Friday.

Edmundo Sosa (back spasms) also feels better. Thomson said he ran and threw on Tuesday.

Alec Bohm (strained left hand) did all regular non-game activities, including hitting in the batting cage with a regular bat. Thomson said that until now, Bohm has been using a shorter bat to swing. The Phillies haven’t determined if Bohm will require a rehab assignment before returning from the injured list.

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Austin Hays (kidney infection) did some agility work on the field, a throwing program, and hit in the cages.

Down at the Phillie’s facilities in Clearwater, Fla., Spencer Turnbull (right upper back strain) is scheduled to throw batting practice on Friday. Top prospect Andrew Painter (elbow) threw batting practice on Monday and is scheduled for another session on Friday.

Zack Wheeler (14-6, 2.59 ERA) is scheduled to pitch in Wednesday’s series finale against Rays righty Shane Baz (2-3, 3.27).