Overview
- On Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park, Jackson Merrill’s two-out RBI single in the seventh inning snapped Cristopher Sánchez’s streak at 50 2/3 scoreless innings, and Sánchez still finished with seven innings, one run allowed, eight strikeouts and the win in a 3-2 Philadelphia victory.
- The 50 2/3-inning run is the longest consecutive scoreless innings ever by a left-handed pitcher in MLB history and ranks fifth on the all-time single-season list dating to 1893.
- Sánchez’s streak had eclipsed the Phillies’ 115-year franchise mark set by Grover Cleveland Alexander and surpassed Carl Hubbell’s lefty benchmark on the way to the new record.
- The run built on a spotless May that earned him National League Pitcher of the Month and left Sánchez with an early-season line near 6-2 and a roughly 1.46 ERA with high strikeout totals and frequent seven-inning outings.
- Beyond the box score, the streak drew a minute-long standing ovation, lifted clubhouse morale and strengthens Sánchez’s Cy Young credentials while confirming the Phillies’ investment in him as a frontline ace with tangible impact on the rotation and postseason outlook.