Phillies’ Cristopher Sánchez makes strong spring debut against the Twins

CLEARWATER, Fla. — It was a good day for Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez, who made his first start of the spring on Tuesday in Fort Myers, Fla., against the Twins. The lefthander threw two innings of one-hit ball, with one strikeout and no walks in the game that ended in a tie at 3. Notably, he was sitting at 93-95 mph, with his hardest pitch of the day clocking in at 95.3 mph.

Sánchez averaged 92.1 mph on his sinker, the highest-velocity pitch he throws, in 2023. The 27-year-old pitcher is in a vastly different spot than he was last spring. After posting a 3.44 ERA in 19 games (18 starts), he has firmly secured a spot in the back end of the Phillies’ rotation this season.

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The bullpen did a good job of holding the game down until the ninth inning. The next six relievers behind Sánchez — Andrew Bellatti, Dylan Covey, José Ruiz, Orion Kerkering, Michael Mercado, and Tyler McKay — held the Twins to four hits and no runs. Right-hander Brett Schulze was charged with the blown save after allowing three earned runs on three hits with a walk and a strikeout in the bottom of the ninth.

Right-hander Carlos Francisco came in for Schulze to finish the game.

Who stood out: It was more of a pitching-centric day. The Phillies combined for six hits against the Twins, and no player recorded more than one hit. But Trea Turner hit a two-out, leadoff double in the third inning, so let’s go with him.

On deck: The Phillies play the Atlanta Braves at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater on Tuesday at 1:05 p.m. The game will be televised on NBC Sports Philadelphia+.