Cristopher Sánchez’s complete game shutout powers Phillies’ 2-0 win over the Marlins

At 8:35 p.m. on Friday night, Cristopher Sánchez struck out Josh Bell, hunched over his knees, and let out a cathartic yell. He slapped his glove in his hand. It was a rare display of emotion for the left-handed pitcher, but a warranted one. Two years ago, he was opening a game in Syracuse for triple-A Lehigh Valley.

On Friday, in a 2-0 win over the Marlins, he threw his first complete-game shutout.

“Incredible,” Sánchez said. “My first complete game. It’s incredible.”

Added catcher Garrett Stubbs: “I screamed at the last out.”

It’s hard to imagine a better player development success story than Sánchez. His path from quad-A player to fourth starter has not been linear. But over the past year and half, he has reinvented himself to become one of the best pitchers in the game (which the Phillies have rewarded him for, with a four-year, $22.5 million contract extension).

At first, Sánchez dialed down his velocity to find his control. He found it last year, and this year, he has begun dialing that velocity back up. Sánchez averaged 95.3 mph on his sinker on Friday. He topped out at 96.9 mph, but didn’t sacrifice his control or command. Of the 101 pitches he threw, 73 were strikes.

He mixed his changeup, sinker, and slider to keep the Marlins off-balance. It helped him stay efficient throughout his nine innings. Sánchez needed just 64 pitchers through six innings, 80 pitches through seven, and 92 through eight. He struck out nine and allowed just three hits.

“People talk about his sinker and his changeup all the time, which, for good reason — they’re his best pitches, no doubt about it,” Stubbs said. “Everyone in the league knows it. But tonight it felt like the slider was also there, too. Pretty good pitch tonight.

“When hitters have to think about three different pitches — and the way that he can locate, that we’ve seen him do before … he was just incredibly efficient. Getting guys out, getting ground balls, nine punch-outs. Really good on his part.”

Sánchez allowed one single in the top of the first, one single in the top of the third, and then retired his next 14 batters. The outfield did not get much work. Brandon Marsh, who was playing right field on Friday night, said he might’ve had a total of three balls hit his way.

“I mean, I feel like there was a good point in the game, around the fifth or seventh, where I blinked and it went by,” Marsh said. “It was as special as it gets tonight.”

It was special, but it was also necessary. The Phillies did not have their best offensive night. The Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber-less lineup went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and combined for two runs on seven hits.

After Bryson Stott’s fifth-inning forceout brought in the first run, they added on in the eighth. Johan Rojas, who was recalled from Lehigh Valley on Friday morning, hit a leadoff double, thanks to some aggressive baserunning, and advanced to third on a wild pitch.

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Stott scored Rojas with as sacrifice fly.

But Sánchez made the lackluster offense a moot point. He didn’t allow the Marlins to muster any offensive momentum. Otto Lopez hit a leadoff single in the eighth, and Sánchez retired his next six batters.

“I got chills after he got out of the eighth inning,” Marsh said.

When Sánchez jogged back out for the ninth, his warmup song began to play. Some fans gave him a standing ovation. He needed only nine pitches to get through it, which felt fitting, given how efficient he’d been all night.

He induced a groundout, a lineout, struck out Bell, slapped his glove, hugged his catcher, and then his manager. He has come a long way.

“I’m so proud of this kid,” Rob Thomson said. “Now he’s a dominant pitcher, really, in major league baseball. When you saw him a couple of years ago, I didn’t think he’d able to do it. But he’s worked so hard. It’s phenomenal. It really is.”