Cristopher Sanchez helped ignite the Don Mattingly era last week.
The left-hander will try to propel Mattingly and the Philadelphia Phillies to another victory Tuesday when the Athletics come to town for the opener of a three-game series.
Philadelphia’s front office fired manager Rob Thomson a week ago and replaced him with Mattingly. The move has paid immediate dividends, as the Phillies are 6-1 under their new skipper.
In Mattingly’s first series as interim manager, the Phillies swept the San Francisco Giants in a three-game set. Sanchez logged a solid outing in Game 2 of that series, allowing two runs in 6 2/3 innings during a 3-2 triumph.
“I think he just kept fighting and kept making pitches,” Mattingly said. “That’s a pretty good outing when a guy gives up two in the first and can come back like that and keep us in the game.”
Sanchez did not appear in the team’s four-game series against the Miami Marlins that concluded Monday, but other players stepped up, including Aaron Nola. The veteran right-hander worked six scoreless innings Monday in a 1-0 victory, while Bryce Harper took care of the offense with his seventh homer of the year.
“April’s behind us,” Harper said. “We’ve got to step forward and understand that we’re stacking days and playing better and just keep it going, no matter where we’re at, what’s happening in the game or anything. Just stack the days and be where we want to be at the end.”
The Athletics are coming off a 7-1 home win over the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday, although that was their only win of the three-game series. The A’s allowed 22 runs while losing the first two games of the weekend set.
“Today was a big game for us,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said following the Sunday victory. “Dropping these last two games, you could feel a difference in the club emotionally, I think. There was a feeling of, ‘Man, we should have won those games.'”
Colby Thomas, Zack Gelof and Tyler Soderstrom homered on Sunday for the A’s, who have scored at least five runs in each of their past five games.
“I think we approach the game the same every day,” Thomas said. “We just want to go out there and win. I’m sure everybody knows where we’re at in the standings (first place in the American League West), and we’re just going to try to continue to play like we have been playing.”
The A’s will give the nod on Tuesday to Luis Severino (2-2, 4.46 ERA), who is coming off a pair of solid outings. The Dominican right-hander allowed two runs in 13 2/3 innings over the outings against the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals while earning his first two wins of the year.
“Since (making a mechanical adjustment), I just feel more in command and feel like I can throw the ball wherever I want,” Severino said.
In three lifetime starts against the Phillies, Severino is 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA.
Sanchez has faced the A’s twice, allowing three runs in 8 2/3 innings over those two outings without recording a decision.
The Phillies are expected to activate closer Jhoan Duran before Tuesday’s game. The hard-throwing right-hander missed the past three weeks due to a left oblique strain.
The Phillies and A’s played a three-game set in West Sacramento, Calif., last season. The visitors won two of the three matchups.
–Field Level Media
