PHILADELPHIA — Cristopher Sánchez supplied the dominance. Trea Turner supplied the late thunder. And on a night already built around fireworks at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies gave the crowd plenty before the postgame show ever began.Sánchez allowed three hits and two walks while throwing 66 of his 92 pitches for strikes. The left-hander set the tone immediately, striking out Konnor Griffin and Bryan Reynolds in the first inning before striking out the side in the second.
That second inning briefly came with a scare. After striking out Nick Gonzales, Sánchez motioned for the trainer, creating a tense moment for a Phillies club that has leaned heavily on him throughout its first-half recovery.
“Yeah, a little bit,” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said with a bit of a smile when asked if he was concerned. “Especially in the second inning, you’re thinking, ‘Not tonight.’”
Sánchez stayed in the game and struck out Endy Rodríguez to end the inning. Afterward, he said the issue was minor.
“Just a little scratch on the finger,” Sánchez said through a team interpreter. “It happens sometimes when I throw the changeup because of the touch with the fingers, but it’s no big deal.”
Sánchez improved his ERA to 2.00 and kept Pittsburgh from generating sustained pressure, working around a walk in the third, a two-out single in the fourth and a leadoff single in the sixth.
By the time Sánchez walked off after the seventh, the Phillies were still in control of a 2-0 game. By the end of the eighth, it had become a rout.
Turner finished 2-for-5 with a double, home run, two runs scored and three RBIs. His RBI double in the seventh scored Derek Hill and pushed the Phillies’ lead to 3-0. An inning later, after Justin Crawford singled home Bryson Stott, Turner drove a two-run homer to right-center off Brandan Bidois to make it 8-0.
The Phillies finished with 12 hits and went 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
Crawford gave the Phillies their first breakthrough in the second inning against Pirates starter Bubba Chandler. After Alec Bohm singled, J.T. Realmuto was hit by a pitch and Gabriel Rincones Jr. singled to load the bases, Crawford capped a seven-pitch at-bat by fighting an 88 mph slider well off the plate down the third-base line, scoring Bohm and Realmuto to give Philadelphia a 2-0 lead.
“Crawford’s hit in the second was huge,” Mattingly said. “Big at-bat, fouling balls off, and then fighting that slider down the line.”
Crawford had a strong night from the bottom of the order, going 3-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and a sacrifice bunt. He doubled in the fifth, moved Hill into scoring position with a bunt in the seventh and added an RBI single in the eighth.
The Phillies broke the game open in the seventh after Rincones walked and Hill entered as a pinch-runner. Crawford sacrificed him to second before Turner doubled to left. Kyle Schwarber followed with a single, and Bryce Harper lined an RBI single to right after Isaac Mattson replaced Chandler. Brandon Marsh then grounded into a forceout that scored Schwarber, extending the lead to 5-0.
Sánchez received help from his defense. Alec Bohm made a diving stop and spinning throw in the third, then later threw out Griffin after a replay review overturned the original call at first base in the fifth. Harper also made a strong catch in foul territory to retire Henry Davis in the fifth after Billy Cook’s double.
With the Phillies heading on the road for nine games after Thursday’s series finale against the Pirates, the next time Sánchez takes the mound at Citizens Bank Park could come as the National League starter in the All-Star Game.
For Sánchez, the possibility carries weight beyond the assignment itself.
“Another goal, another dream come true,” Sánchez said. “A great thing for this beautiful city, and the fans deserve even more.”
Jonathan Bowlan replaced Sánchez in the eighth and struck out three while working around a walk and a single. Lou Trivino pitched a scoreless ninth to finish the shutout.
Bobby Dickerson, the Phillies’ infield coach, was ejected by first-base umpire Cory Blaser in the fifth inning for arguing a call on the bases.
Schwarber had two hits, Harper reached twice and drove in a run, and Stott went 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. The Pirates managed five hits and struck out 13 times.
The victory brought the Phillies back to 10 games over .500, another marker in a first-half recovery that once looked almost impossible after their terrible start.
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