Kyle Schwarber belted his 38th homer of the year and Cristopher Sanchez threw eight scoreless innings to help the host Philadelphia Phillies to a 2-0 victory Sunday night over the Detroit Tigers.
Sanchez (10-3) allowed five hits and struck out six over eight innings. He was dominant throughout, throwing only 84 pitches and allowing the Tigers to reach third base only twice. It is the 17th time this season that the left-hander has allowed two or fewer runs.
Jhoan Duran came on in the ninth inning to register his 18th save of the season and second on the weekend since being obtained from Minnesota on Wednesday. He threw 10 of his 12 pitches over 100 mph, including one at 103.3 mph to Riley Greene.
Philadelphia has won three of its last five games and moved a half game ahead of the New York Mets at the top of the NL East standings.
The Phillies opened the scoring in the second inning when Max Kepler grounded out to second base, allowing Nick Castellanos to score.
Philadelphia had a chance to add to its lead in the sixth inning with Schwarber reaching third after his one-out double and fielder’s choice, but the Phillies left him stranded.
Detroit had an opportunity to score its first run in the seventh inning with runners on second and third and one out. However, Jahmai Jones was thrown out at home when Andy Ibanez hit a grounder and third baseman Edmundo Sosa threw to catcher J.T. Realmuto for the tag.
Following that play, Detroit loaded the bases, but Wenceel Perez grounded into a forceout. The Tigers were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position for the game.
Schwarber blasted his homer 435 feet to center field in the eighth off reliever Tyler Holton to close the scoring. It was his eighth home run since the All-Star break.
Tigers starter Charlie Morton (7-9), a 41-year-old right-hander who was obtained from Baltimore on Thursday shortly before the trade deadline, struck out six while allowing one run on four hits over six innings.
–Field Level Media
