Cristopher Sánchez pitches five 'pain free' innings as Phillies beat Nationals, 7-2

Lochlahn March, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Apr 30, 2025

Published in Baseball

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PHILADELPHIA — Before Cristopher Sánchez took the mound against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday, the main thing Phillies manager Rob Thomson wanted to see was Sánchez being “pain free.”

In what was ultimately a 7-2 win over Washington, Sánchez made his first start since being removed after just two innings on April 22 with left forearm tightness. The Phillies avoided a major blow when it was determined he had no structural damage, and after the scare, Sánchez threw a bullpen session and completed his regular routine to prepare for his next turn in the rotation.

On Wednesday, Sánchez struck out six across five innings, using 87 pitches. His velocity was back to normal, though he had trouble with his command at times. Sánchez limited the Nationals to two runs.

Second baseman Bryson Stott was back in the lineup after his finger was stepped on by Nationals pitcher Kyle Finnegan Tuesday night while scoring the walk-off run on a wild pitch. While X-rays were negative, Thomson expected him to be sore.

But if he was, it didn’t seem to affect his approach at the plate. In the leadoff spot, Stott went 2 for 5 and stole a base.

Stott got the offense started in the first inning with a leadoff single. Trea Turner worked a four-pitch walk, before Kyle Schwarber golfed a curveball from Jake Irvin off the right-field scoreboard with a one-handed swing.

It marked Schwarber’s second home run in as many games, and gave the Phillies an early 3-0 lead.

The Phillies also led off the fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth innings with a hit, and each time the runner came around to score. J.T. Realmuto singled to lead off the fourth, and scored on an RBI single from Stott. Bryce Harper doubled to lead off the fifth, and was driven home by Nick Castellanos.

In the sixth, Max Kepler gave the Phillies an insurance run with a leadoff homer, his third of the year. Realmuto added another solo homer over the left field wall to lead off the eighth.

Collectively, the offense only recorded two strikeouts, tying a season low set on April 15 against San Francisco.

The Phillies’ bullpen held the Nationals off the scoreboard over the final four innings. José Ruiz, Tanner Banks and Carlos Hernandez split the job in relief.

Johan Rojas was checked out by Phillies trainers after sliding awkwardly stealing second base in the eighth. He remained in the game.