The Philadelphia Phillies fans in Citizens Bank Park rose to their feet in the seventh inning of Wednesday’s game to give a standing ovation after the San Diego Padres scored. An odd sight without context, but that run ended one of the most miraculous scoreless innings streaks in MLB history, and they wanted to show starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez what it meant.
Sanchez would get out of the seventh inning without allowing another run and went on to record a win. The damage, as they say, was done, though. Sanchez’s scoreless inning streak ended at 50.2 consecutive innings.
The record is 59 innings, held by Orel Hershiser of the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a mark set back in 1988 and, until Sanchez’s run, seemed almost untouchable. Still, when speaking to USA Today, Hershiser shared that he was rooting for Sanchez.
“I was rooting for him because I know how special it is in your life,’’ Hershiser said. “He’s having a great year. He’s got to be the front-runner for the Cy Young. He’s got ridiculous stuff. And he’s a strikeout pitcher, much more of a strikeout pitcher than I was.’’
In the end, Sanchez wasn’t able to break the record. That shouldn’t take away from what he did do, though.
“It’s a great accomplishment, it really is,’’ Hershiser said. “It’s tremendous. I really believe you’re going to see more streaks this year. You’ve got guys like Shohei (Ohtani of the Dodgers). Miz (Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers). I think with the way hitting is now, you’re going to see more of these streaks… Someone will break the record.’’
Philadelphia Phillies Pitcher Cristopher Sanchez Made History
GettyPhiladelphia Phillis SP Cristopher Sanchez
So, Cristopher Sanchez fell short of the MLB record for scoreless innings. That stings, but it doesn’t mean the Philadelphia Phillies southpaw didn’t make history.
For one, Sanchez did set the Phillies record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched. That was a record that had stood for 115 years at 44.2 innings pitched by Grover Cleveland Alexander. It wouldn’t be shocking of Sanchez’s mark of 50.2 innings stands just as long.
On top of that, Sanchez did set an MLB record. It was just the longest scoreless inning streak for a left-handed pitcher. That record had previously been held by Carl Hubbell, of the New York Giants and was set back in 1933.
“It’s something I never imagined in my life that I would do,” Sánchez said.
Prior to Wednesday, Sanchez had not allowed a run in a game since April 30th. That was five games without allowing a run. It also helped Sanchez move his ERA to 1.46 on the season with 103 strikeouts, 86.1 innings pitched, and a 1.089 WHIP. He would be named NL Pitcher of the Month for May and is firmly leading the Cy Young race.
“You don’t get to see things like this very often,” interim manager Don Mattingly said before the game. “Just historically, obviously the Phillies have never seen it this far, but even nationally in the game itself. So it’s one of those things that it’s not happening very often. … I don’t know if I’ve seen anything that’s really been better than this.”
Cristopher Sanchez is Still Processing His Scoreless Innings Streak
GettyPhiladelphia Phillies SP Cristopher Sanchez
Immediately following the game was too early to reflect on the scoreless inning streak for Cristopher Sanchez. Instead, he admitted that it’s going to take some time to sink in.
“I’m gonna need a little time to [process] this and fully acknowledge that it happened, because as of right now, I still can’t believe that it did,” Sánchez said. “I think that once the season’s over and I’m home with my family, maybe that’s when I’ll start thinking about what actually happened here.”
Now, 29 years old, Sanchez has been in the majors since 2021. That entire time he’s been with the Phillies. He’s found some consistent success there, including an All-Star appearance in 2024, but nothing like he’s had so far in 2026. It’s the type of season that makes him seem like a steal for the six-year, $107 million contract the Phillies signed him to in March.
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