Cristopher Sanchez and the Philadelphia Phillies have lofty goals this year, and they will continue that quest on Friday when they open a three-game road series against the Miami Marlins.
Sanchez (11-5, 2.66 ERA) is hoping to get into the thick of the National League Cy Young Award race with less than a month remaining in the season. His latest stellar outing came Saturday against the Atlanta Braves, when he lasted seven innings while allowing just one run and striking out eight.
“It was good,” Sanchez said postgame of his devastating changeup, “and that’s what it’s all about. It’s about making adjustments, and that’s what we did today.”
Sanchez has started against Miami once this season. He allowed only one run over eight innings in a 2-1 road win on June 19. For his career, Sanchez is 2-0 with a 1.27 ERA in five games (three starts) against the Marlins.
The Phillies (81-59) are coming off a productive series in Milwaukee in which they took two of three from the NL-leading Brewers. In a 2-0 set-clinching victory on Thursday, Trea Turner and Bryson Stott knocked in runs in support of Ranger Suarez, who tossed six scoreless innings.
Philadelphia has won five of its past seven games.
“I think our attitude is just keep pushing and keep competing and good things will happen,” said Turner, adding that “getting that lead and holding onto it was big because you’ve got to win games like that.”
Meanwhile, the Marlins (65-75) are looking to bounce back after a lethargic three-game sweep at the hands of the last-place Nationals. Miami was outscored 17-7 overall in Washington. The Marlins fell behind 7-0 in the finale on Wednesday before rallying to make the final score (10-5) a bit more respectable.
Joey Wiemer and Heriberto Hernandez each drove in two runs on Wednesday for the Marlins, who will now play their next 10 games at home. Wiemer’s home run was his first since 2023 when he played for the Brewers.
“He’s not too far removed from having a good start to his career in Milwaukee,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “There’s strength there. He’s tough. He’s a great teammate, plays good defense, so nice to see him … have some nice games here on this road trip. Hopefully that just gives him confidence to take that as we get back home and get ready for the Phillies.”
Miami will give the ball to Valente Bellozo (1-3, 3.91 ERA), who has made 17 relief appearances since appearing as a starter in his first five outings this season. Most recently, the right-hander pitched 4 1/3 innings against the New York Mets on Aug. 29, allowing one run and four hits.
He has pitched four innings of relief across two appearances against Philadelphia in June, yielding one run and five hits. Bellozo made one start against the Phillies as a rookie last season, when he surrendered only four hits over seven scoreless innings.
“It’s really awesome,” Bellozo said after that start. “They’re a playoff team — maybe the World Series winner. … A lot of All-Star players, so it was really cool having fun out there and having a good outing.”
–Field Level Media
