Phillies’ Pitcher Sanchez Racking Up Scoreless Innings at Historic Rate

Cristopher Sanchez is the most watched MLB pitcher in the game today.

As of Friday morning, Sanchez, 29, leads the major leagues with a miserly 1.47 ERA, and he broke a 115-year record Wednesday when the Phillies beat the Padres 3–0 at San Diego’s Petco Park.

Sanchez didn’t walk a batter and struck out nine as he ran his season record to 6–2 in 79.1 innings. The left-hander also broke the franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings, passing Grover Cleveland Alexander’s 41-inning streak from 1911. When Sanchez’s night was over in San Diego, his scoreless mark grew to 44 2/3 innings, good for seventh place on the Live Ball Era list.

Sanchez kept all opposing teams scoreless in May. The last time he surrendered a run was against the San Francisco Giants on April 30. His next start will be Tuesday against the Padres at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park.

After his six-hit, seven-inning performance on Wednesday, Sanchez’s teammates were commenting on how dominant he has been during the season’s first two months. MLB.com caught up with one of the Phillies who put Sanchez’s work in perspective.

“He’s been really good for quite a long time now,” said Trea Turner, who homered for the second straight game. “When you’re that consistent, you’re going to start putting your name up there with those other guys. This is a very historic franchise, so any time you can be at the top of something here, I think it’s pretty special.”

Sanchez has to be the early favorite to be named the National League’s starting pitcher in July’s All-Star Game. Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who will be skippering the National League squad, will make that decision.

Much can happen between now and then. But with each batter retired, and each scoreless inning chalked up, Sanchez’s celebrity is growing.

His 12 starts in 2026 have been backed by a run-producing Phillies offense with elite bats provided by Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber (combined 34 home runs and 71 RBIs), along with steady production from Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh. Given the strong start by the National League East-leading Atlanta Braves, and the slow start Philadelphia muddled through, Sanchez’s pitching excellence has kept the Phillies close in the standings.

Since Phillies management relieved Rob Thomson of his role as skipper and replaced him with bench coach Don Mattingly as interim manager, the club has rung up a record of 20–8. Before Mattingly was elevated to his current position, the Phillies were 9–19. The club has a .714 winning percentage during this time as well.

Sanchez is experiencing the second-greatest month for a pitcher in MLB history. With all the success coming his direction, the left-hander remains humble, and isn’t offering a hint of being in awe when his name is associated with other greats who are ahead of him in the consecutive scoreless innings race.

“This is a game; it’s not only about me or about what I do on the mound,” Sanchez said on Wednesday to The Athletic. “It’s about our group. And I think it’s really something special and beautiful to feel the support of the team as a whole.”

Sanchez, who was signed by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2013 as an undrafted free agent, is in his third full season on the Phillies roster. His success this season shouldn’t come  as a surprise. In 2024 his ERA was 3.32, followed by 2.50 in 2025. Now, with a 1.47 ERA, a pattern of control in getting his pitches where the catcher frames the at-bat is routinely hitting its mark.

The all-time record for consecutive scoreless innings is 59, set by Dodger Orel Hershiser in 1988. Known as “Bulldog,” Hershiser began his scoreless streak on Aug. 20 of that season, throwing four scoreless frames against the Montreal Expos, then had six scoreless starts in September. He won the National League Cy Young Award that year, and the Dodgers won the World Series.

The next mark for Sanchez to top on the scoreless innings list is the 45 innings hurled by New York Giants pitcher Sal Maglie in 1950. Just ahead of Maglie are Carl Hubbell (45 1/3 in 1933) and Zack Greinke (45 2/3 in 2015). Third on the list is Bob Gibson at 47 innings set in June 1968, and second is Don Drysdale, who went 58 innings unscored on, also in 1968, his best season.

The magic that Sanchez is creating on the mound is similar to that of a home run race or base-stealing record in  jeopardy of falling. It’s rare and borders on mythical. The hordes of reporters and photographers following Sanchez and the Phillies continue to swell. Next stop, San Diego on Tuesday. Win or lose, whether or not the streak continues, Sanchez is MLB’s 24/7 news story for the foreseeable future.