Despite the excellence of Sánchez, the game remained close. Then Rojas decided to do something about it. He hit a bouncer that went straight up the middle, then dashed to second to stretch out a double that left the Phillies’ dugout looking incredulous and the Marlins looking like they had heartburn. Clearly not having had his fill of basepath action, Rojas then made it to third on a wild pitch. Stott hit a sacrifice fly to left, and Rojas’ audacity was rewarded with a run: 2-0 Philadelphia.
Sánchez came out for the ninth looking to finish the complete game shutout. A groundout and lineout later put Sánchez on the precipice of a career-first accomplishment. A low changeup drew a swing and a miss, and the CGSO was in the books. 9 innings, 0 runs, 9 strikeouts, and just three hits allowed. On a day when Phillies fans were feeling tense, Sánchez gave them cause to smile.
The Phillies are 54-28. They’ll look to clinch a series win against the Marlins tomorrow at 4:05.
It’s been a long crawl to the weekend for the Fightin’ faithful. Between the frustrating loss last night and the uneasy wait for news on the injuries of Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, you could be forgiven if the second game of the series against Miami had slipped from your mind. Still, the first pitch arrives whether you remember it’s coming or not.
The Phillies lineup was an injury-induced novelty, featuring familiar faces in strange places — Bryson Stott at leadoff, Brandon Marsh batting cleanup. Kody Clemens and Johan Rojas both made their return after a sojourn to Lehigh Valley.
The first 3 innings were largely uneventful, with Cristopher Sánchez and Kyle Tyler stymying their opponents and navigating past the few baserunners they allowed.
Momentum seemed like it might shift in the top of the 4th, when Bryan De La Cruz and Vidal Bruján converged on a line drive from Trea Turner and permitted it to pass right through them; Bruján slumped his head against the wall in frustration. A groundout from Alec Bohm advanced Turner to third, and a walk from Marsh put runner on the corners, but Nick Castellanos and Clemens made outs to send the game to the 5th with no score.
But after that the Phillies finally broke through. Whit Merrifield slapped a bingle to left and Stubbs responded with one of his own to right, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Stott then drove in an RBI with a groundout, putting the first run on the board and chasing Tyler for Declan Cronin. Stott took off for second on a steal attempt and was caught to end the inning, with the Phillies up 1-0.
Meanwhile, the Miamis searched for a breakthrough of their own, only to be held off by Sánchez, who struck out the side in the top of the 6th and kept the fish sputtering. They got a little luckier in the top of the 8th, when a bouncing ball from Otto Lopez slipped just past a sliding Stott’s glove to give them their first baserunner since the 3rd inning. But if they saw the door begin to open, Sánchez immediately slammed it shut. Lopez advanced no further than second.
Phillies' starter Cristopher Sanchez blanked the Marlins for his first complete game in the majors - June 28, 2024
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