Cristopher Sánchez commits two errors, walks three batters in Phillies’ loss to Pirates

Cristopher Sánchez allowed three walks in only one outing last year. He’s now allowed three walks through two of three outings in 2024. It’s a small sample, as all samples are in April, but one to keep an eye on. Control and command are Sánchez’s calling cards. He doesn’t have high-velocity weapons to work with.

Sánchez retired the first four batters he faced, and then the walks started to come. He allowed one to Andrew McCutchen, struck out Oneil Cruz, and committed a fielding error to allow Michael A. Taylor to reach base. He walked two more batters to walk in a run in the second inning.

Manager Rob Thomson didn’t see command or control issues.

“I thought today was good,” he said. “The last start in Washington, he wasn’t getting ahead of hitters, but I thought he was pretty good today.”

Sánchez’s error in the second inning was one of two in the Phillies’ 5-2 loss to the Pirates on Friday night. His other came in the top of the third, when he was trying to throw to first base. His pitch count ran up quite bit as a result: Sánchez finished his night at 91 pitches (58 strikes) through six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits with six strikeouts (and the aforementioned three walks).

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Former Phillie Bailey Falter, who made the start for Pittsburgh on Friday, was more efficient, allowing no walks, and one run on four hits through five innings with three strikeouts. He needed 71 pitches to do so (47 strikes).

There was a stretch, from the first inning to the fifth, where Falter retired 11 Phillies batters in a row. It was broken up by Brandon Marsh, who hit a line drive double to center field. Bryson Stott drove him home with a bloop single two at-bats later.

That was one of only two runs the Phillies scored Friday. They went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and combined for seven hits. The Pirates were by no means an offensive juggernaut either, but they did enough to pull out a win. After scoring two runs off Sánchez, they scored one off Yunior Marte and two more off Ricardo Pinto.

The Phillies’ best chance at a rally came in the bottom of the eighth. With runners on first and second, Pirates reliever Aroldis Chapman walked in a run to cut the Phillies’ deficit to three. But the rally ended there as Marsh struck out to end the inning.

Bryce Harper went 2-for-4 on Friday night. It was his first multi-hit game since his three-home run game on April 2. One of his fly balls nearly left the ballpark. In the fourth inning, he barreled one 402 feet to center field, but it was caught right at the wall. Harper entered Friday with an 0-for-18 streak.

“Tough luck,” Thomson said of Harper. “But I thought his at-bats were good tonight. He hit the ball hard three or four times tonight. So I think he’s fine.”

Said Harper: “At the end of the day it’s about getting hits, right? So just trying to go up there and get the hits and try to have good at-bats. Obviously you guys know if I’m swinging at pitches out of the zone, I’m going to get out. So let the game come to me. Just got to stay the course and have better at-bats.”

In the top of the seventh inning, Marte lost control of one of his sinkers and hit Realmuto in the forearm/wrist area. He was looked at by assistant athletic trainer Joe Rauch for a few moments, but returned in the game. This was a few days after Realmuto took a pitch to the neck in St. Louis (he returned to the lineup the next day).

“Trainers are going to check on him as always, but I don’t think we need X-rays or anything,” Thomson said of Realmuto.

It was a tough outing for Marte, who had done a good job of throwing strikes leading into Friday night. Marte had allowed just two walks through six scoreless outings before this series against the Pirates. But on Friday, he gave up back-to-back singles and a run scored on a passed ball, when Realmuto was injured. Marte then allowed back-to-back walks to load the bases with two outs. He struck out Cruz to prevent any further damage, but it was a far cry from what he’d done to start the season.

“I think when he crossed J.T. up, I think that affected him. He felt really bad,” Thomson said. “So he’s just got to bounce back and start pounding the zone again.”