By the time first pitch arrives at 6:38 p.m. Saturday, Citizens Bank Park will already feel like it’s shaking. The Phillies know what that atmosphere can do. Cristopher Sánchez knows it too. And in Game 1 of the NLDS, it will be Sánchez against Shohei Ohtani — a matchup that blends stardom, belief, and a stadium that never sleeps in October.
J.T. Realmuto didn’t face Ohtani in their most recent meeting, but he heard plenty from teammates.
“I might not be the right guy to ask because I didn't play that game,” Realmuto said. “But just hearing the other guys talk, obviously the stuff is really good. He was able to mix on us really well, kept our guys off balance.
“And they all just mentioned how good the stuff is -- the fastball plays up, the breaking balls are sharp. So he's obviously going to be a challenge for us, but I do think, hopefully seeing him a second time, will help our guys.”
Rob Thomson was just as direct: “A couple weeks ago was probably his best start of the year. He was phenomenal. It's the combination of power and control, command, stuff. He was really good. He was pumping strikes and it was 98, 99. And the secondary pitches are all way above-average. So if he's doing that, it's a tough task.”
That’s the task waiting for Philadelphia. Ohtani posted a 2.87 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 14 starts for the Dodgers this season, dominating down the stretch.
Where Ohtani is the global phenomenon, Sánchez is the homegrown evolution. Realmuto has caught that journey.
“I think one area is his confidence,” Realmuto said of Sanchez. “I think just from watching him the last few years, he just continues to get more and more confident and believe in himself. His stuff has always been really good, but I think his command over the last couple of years has also gotten better and that in turn has given him even more confidence.
“I would say just having confidence in his stuff and being able to pound the strike zone, and then actually being able to execute that and throw the ball where he wants and command all three pitches, throw the fastball, inside, outside. Just his ability to mix speeds and locations is something that's just made him take another step the last few years.”
The numbers show that step. Sánchez finished 13–5 with a 2.50 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, and 212 strikeouts. At Citizens Bank Park, he was even better: 1.94 ERA across 15 starts with a 0.91 WHIP.
And to Realmuto, the setting matters. “I do know he loves pitching here. He loves the atmosphere. What the crowd brings to him, I think, is something that can't be overstated. Obviously his numbers here have been really good the last few years. There's something he feels in this ballpark where he just feels at home, he feels confident and he enjoys dominating here.”
The Phillies haven’t officially laid out the entire rotation, but if it’s Sánchez, Ranger Suárez, and Jesús Luzardo to open, that means three straight lefties. To Realmuto, that’s not a concern.
“It can play both sides of it,” Realmuto said. “I think our lefties are pretty drastically different in the way they pitch and the stuff. They all use different pitches. They all throw different velos.
“I know they're three lefties but we'll be attacking their hitters all differently with all three of them. I don't think that's a challenge.”
Thomson echoed it: “Luzardo is more of a power guy, and Ranger is more of the finesse guy. I think it's kind of two different guys, so it's not like we're pitching the same guy back to back. I'm comfortable with that if that's what we do.”
The Phillies expect a grind. Realmuto framed it this way:
“In my opinion, the talent is pretty evenly matched across both teams. They're extremely talented over in that clubhouse. And we obviously have confidence in the guys we have.
“The series is going to come down to who's able to get the big hits in the big moments and command the strike zone, both pitching and hitting, and then not trying to do too much when the runners are on base and being able to shorten up, put the ball in play, find the holes.
“It's going to be a very evenly matched series. Whoever comes up in those big spots and is able to put the ball in play, find the gap -- it might not necessarily be the big home run that wins the series; I think it's going to be doing the little things correctly.”
Thomson agreed: “They've got a lot of veteran hitters that grind at-bats. They know the strike zone and they don't get out of the strike zone a whole lot. You have to pitch them very, very well.”
Both clubs feel the weight of the moment.
“They are the world champions,” Thomson said. “And I think there's a buzz every year that we come into this thing. Is there more this year? I don't know, because we haven't really dealt with anything yet. But as the series goes on, I think it will, the buzz will increase.
“But I think both these clubs are really matched up well -- good starting pitching, got a lot of thump in both lineups and very veteran groups. So I think they'll be able to handle it.”
And Realmuto sees the matchup as fitting. “Playing a team like this -- in my opinion, they're the epitome of what Major League should be; they go out every year and try to win, their ownership is awesome, their front office is great. It's an organization that the other teams look up to.
“And I see us as the same way. I feel this match-up is going to be a lot of fun. And it's good for the game to have these two teams going at it.”
So here it is: Sánchez, the left-hander who has learned to trust his stuff, against Ohtani, the pitcher-hitter who seems larger than life. One has built himself into a quiet October weapon; the other steps into October with the spotlight squarely on him.
And wrapped around it all is the one thing neither side can game-plan for: a Philadelphia crowd that has turned its ballpark into baseball’s loudest stage.
Or, as Realmuto put it simply about Sánchez pitching at home: “He feels confident and he enjoys dominating here.”
That’s what Saturday is about — confidence versus celebrity, command versus power, and the belief that in October, Citizens Bank Park can tip the balance.
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