CHICAGO — It says a lot about Cristopher Sánchez that he, in his own words, “can be better” than how he’s pitched so far in 2026, and yet he still owns the fifth-best ERA among qualified MLB starters.
But that does more than enough to explain why the Phillies signed him to a six-year, $107 million extension last month. And why they’ll be pinning their hopes on him to end an eight-game losing skid when he takes the mound for Thursday’s series finale against the Cubs at Wrigley Field at 2:20 p.m. ET.
It will mark Sánchez’s sixth start on the young season, a campaign in which he has still been able to produce a 1.59 ERA despite facing more traffic on the basepaths than usual. The Philly southpaw’s WHIP currently sits at 1.412, a notable rise from 1.064 he posted last year while finishing second in NL Cy Young Award voting.
Sánchez is just over a week removed from holding this same Cubs lineup to two earned runs on six innings pitched. Though he allowed six hits and three walks, the lefty was still able to turn in the second of his three quality starts in five outings this season. He took the loss in his latest start, a 3-1 defeat in Atlanta, after several Phillies miscues left him on the hook for three unearned runs.
The 29-year-old left-hander will be counted on for more than just reversing the fortunes of a Phillies club riding its longest losing streak since Sept. 20-28, 2018. The length he’s provided so far this season — pitching into the sixth in all but one of his starts — is much needed for a rotation that’s struggled to provide long starts over this skid.
Neither Aaron Nola on Monday nor Jesús Luzardo on Tuesday were able to make it out of the fifth inning. The Phillies put an opener on the mound ahead of struggling right-hander Taijuan Walker Wednesday, but he lasted just four frames. Overall, Philadelphia entered Wednesday getting just 33 1/3 innings from their starting pitchers since April 14. Only five clubs have gotten less length from their rotation during that span.
