Cristopher Sanchez matched his career high with 12 strikeouts in a dazzling complete game as the Philadelphia Phillies topped the visiting Boston Red Sox 4-1 on Tuesday evening.
Max Kepler and Kyle Schwarber homered for the Phillies, who have won the first two games of the three-game series. However, the story for the hosts was the continued emergence of Sanchez (9-2), who allowed four hits and did not walk a batter in a 106-pitch masterpiece.
Rob Refsnyder’s homer accounted for the only run for the Red Sox. Boston’s Roman Anthony struck out in all four of his at-bats, while Romy Gonzalez went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
Philadelphia made some immediate noise against Richard Fitts (1-4) in the bottom of the first inning.
Trea Turner singled to begin the frame and moved to third on Bryce Harper’s one-out hit before Nick Castellanos delivered an RBI single. With two outs and Brandon Marsh at the plate, Harper stole home on a play that was technically scored as catcher’s interference because Carlos Narvaez came across the plate to catch the pitch.
It was the second catcher’s interference in as many nights against Narvaez. The series opener on Monday ended when Edmundo Sosa’s bat made contact with Narvaez’s glove with the bases loaded in the 10th inning.
Philadelphia doubled its lead in the second inning thanks to solo homers from Kepler and Schwarber. Kepler led off the frame with a blast on a 1-0 slider, his 11th of the year. Schwarber tacked on a two-out shot on a 3-1 slider, his 33rd, to make it 4-0.
Refsnyder got Boston on the board in the fourth inning with a leadoff shot against Sanchez, who had retired the first nine batters he faced. The homer was Refsnyder’s sixth.
Sanchez cruised for the bulk of the contest, including a crisp sixth inning in which he struck out all three batters he faced. He allowed a leadoff hit in the eighth but retired the next three batters, including an inning-ending strikeout of Refsnyder.
Sanchez put an exclamation point on his evening with two more strikeouts in the ninth, including Gonzalez’s swing and miss to end the game.
Fitts was charged with four runs and six hits in 3 1/3 innings. He struck out four without walking a batter.
–Field Level Media
