The Philadelphia Phillies have won five straight games started by Cristopher Sanchez, and they hope to continue that streak on Wednesday when they wrap up their three-game home series with the Chicago Cubs.
The Phillies experienced a bit of a roller-coaster ride through the first two games of the series. On Monday, they defeated the Cubs 6-2 to clinch the National League East for the first time in 13 years. The Tuesday contest was a dud for the hosts, though, as Philadelphia was trounced by Chicago 10-4 despite homers from Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper.
“You obviously want to go out there and keep winning,” said Schwarber, adding that “we’ve got to put this one behind us and focus on these next four games.”
Philadelphia (93-65) is a half-game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (93-64) in the race for the top seed in the National League playoffs. The Phillies have four games remaining — one fewer than the Dodgers — and they own the tiebreaker against Los Angeles.
Sanchez (11-9, 3.25 ERA) is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in four starts this month. He gave up two runs in five innings Friday against the New York Mets, although the All-Star left-hander also issued a career-high five walks.
On the season, Sanchez has a 2.05 ERA at home, compared to a 5.02 mark on the road. One of his worst starts of the season came at Wrigley Field on the Fourth of July, when he was charged with seven runs in four-plus innings during a 10-2 defeat. That was his only career start against Chicago.
The Cubs will give the ball to Javier Assad (7-5, 3.34 ERA), who yielded three runs in five innings on Thursday against the Washington Nationals. Assad has similar home-road splits to Sanchez, having posted a 2.47 ERA at home and a 4.17 mark away from Wrigley Field. He is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two career appearances (one start) vs. the Phillies.
“Javy’s had a really good season,” manager Craig Counsell said after the right-hander’s most recent start. “He’s handled (the increased responsibility) and deserved it and kept earning it throughout the season. I’m proud of him for that — and he should be proud of that.”
Chicago (81-77) owns a bit of momentum after outhitting Philadelphia 15-7 in the Tuesday rout. Cody Bellinger went 3-for-5 with four RBIs, while Seiya Suzuki drove in two runs and Nico Hoerner contributed three hits.
“All night we had runners on base,” Counsell said after his team’s fourth win in six games.
For Philadelphia, Harper hit his 30th homer as part of his second straight two-hit effort.
“It was good to see Harper swing the bat well,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.
After missing more than three weeks with a kidney infection, Phillies left fielder Austin Hays returned to the lineup on Tuesday and went 1-for-4.
“I feel like that guy’s going to be a big piece of what we’re doing down the stretch,” Schwarber said.
Meanwhile, the Cubs may not have the services of two key players on Wednesday. Michael Busch was hit by a pitch in his right arm and left in the second inning on Tuesday, while Suzuki sprained his right ankle running the bases in the sixth and left two innings later.
