Phillies observations: A change for Cristopher Sánchez, Austin Hays’ adjustment, and more

After a rough few weeks, the Phillies finally won a series and sit atop the sport again with the best record (68-46). It’s impressive, given that they went 5-14 from July 12-Aug. 5, and speaks to how much of a cushion they built in the first half.

Going into Thursday’s game, the Phillies have a 7½-game lead over the Mets in the National League East. They begin a four-game series against the surging Diamondbacks on Thursday night in Phoenix, and will try to keep their momentum going.

Here are a few observations from this week as they enter the final stretch of a 10-game road trip:

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Cristopher Sánchez recorded a 6.59 ERA in five July starts and had one of his worst outings of the season on July 31 against the Yankees. The left-hander allowed six runs on eight hits with one walk in 5⅔ innings.

He bounced back nicely Tuesday night in Los Angeles. Sánchez pitched six innings, allowing one run on five hits in a victory over the Dodgers. He didn’t record as many strikeouts (only two, compared to seven on July 31) but did a great job of keeping the ball on the ground. He induced 11 groundouts and just two flyouts.

Brian Kaplan, the Phillies’ assistant pitching coach and director of pitching development, said Sánchez made a small tweak between starts.

“He’s been drifting a little more across his body,” Kaplan said. “Legs can get heavy, season gets long. The drift creates a feeling that he needs to get himself back on line and will yank/pull the ball at times.

“He focused on his direction in catch play and in his side [session], and it cleaned up well.”

Sánchez has already blown past his regular-season-high innings count. He’s at 126⅔ innings; his previous high was 99⅓ in 2023. He has added muscle, which has helped him manage the heavier workload, but the Phillies will continue to monitor his direction throughout the season. Drifting across his body can cause fatigue and hurt his command.

But for now, he is in a good spot. Kaplan was encouraged with how Sánchez improved as his outing went on.

“When he was rolling, he got better as the game went on, and that’s what the last outing felt like,” Kaplan said.

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When the Phillies acquired Austin Hays from the Orioles before the trade deadline, they knew he had lopsided right-left splits. But they also knew they have a hitting coach in Kevin Long who could help Hays, and the two quickly got to work.

Hays, who exited Wednesday’s game with left hamstring tightness, has hit .211/.261/.325 against righties this season and .333/.392/.514 against lefties. He said he approached Long on July 29 about his right-handed at-bats. He felt like he was getting closed off toward righties and that his body was falling over the plate. His head and eyes were moving too much as a result. It was hard for him to see the ball.

He was swinging at pitches he shouldn’t swing at and taking pitches he shouldn’t take.

“It was leading to some of the chase off the plate away against righties,” Hays said. “I had been doing so much left-handed work, being in that platoon role [with the Orioles], I think that started to take over as my all-around swing against everybody. Because all the work I was doing during games to get ready for left-handed pinch-hit, left-handed starters, because that was my role.”

Long encouraged him to adjust his setup so it was more open against righties. Hays brought the idea to Kyle Schwarber. He agreed with Long.

“I told Schwarbs what I was feeling, too,” Hays said. “He was in a really good stretch against lefties, so I was asking what he feels, and what he was doing against lefties, and it lined up with what Kevin was telling me.”

The impact was immediate. Hays hit a home run against Yankees righty Will Warren the next day. He since has started to incorporate more right-handed work into his pregame routine. He said it is helping.

“I started hitting the off-speed pitches from righties that were in zone, the mistake pitches. I wasn’t fouling them off,” Hays said. “So that started to show up. And I feel like I’ve been swinging it good and seeing the ball good. My head feels still; my eyes feel still.”

It’s unclear if Hayes will have to miss time to nurse his hamstring, but if he does, he should come back with a more well-rounded approach at the plate.

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Phillies manager Rob Thomson has praised Edmundo Sosa for his ability to make the most out of his at-bats of late. Some of this is because of the extra playing time the utility man got in Trea Turner’s absence because of injury. But part of it is because of the way he prepares.

Sosa and assistant hitting coach Rafael Peña do the same routine every day, whether he’s playing or not. This type of preparation is rare for players who don’t play every day, but for Sosa, the extra work has made a difference. He’s hitting .274/.329/.458 this season with a .786 OPS and six home runs. He has increased his walk rate from 2.7% in 2023 to 4.8% in 2024 and has lowered his strikeout rate to 24%.

“I’ve always thought that if you give him regular at-bats, more at-bats … he’s got a good swing. He works at it,” Thomson said. “The more at-bats he gets, the better he gets.”