When he reached four full shutout innings for the Phillies Wednesday in San Diego, Cristopher Sanchez broke a team record that had stood for 115 years. It was 1911 when Grover Cleveland Alexander threw 41 consecutive shutout innings for the Phillies and no other Phillies pitcher had been able to reach that mark since. Sanchez now holds the record with 44.2 consecutive scoreless innings.
Against San Diego on Wednesday, Sanchez threw seven more scoreless innings, allowing six hits and no walks to go with nine strikeouts in the Phillies win. The walks are interesting as he has allowed just six walks and three of them came in the first six innings of the streak when he pitched against San Francisco in the first game of a doubleheader on April 30.
On to bigger and better things
Sanchez now stands seventh in Major League Baseball’s longest consecutive scoreless streaks. With a scoreless first inning in his next start, Sanchez would surpass both Sal Maglie (45 IP in 1950) and Carl Hubbell (45.1 IP in 1933). He would also be tied with Zack Greinke (45.2 IP in 2015) for fourth all-time in the majors. He would need to throw three scoreless innings to move into third place, just ahead of Bob Gibson (47 IP in 1968).
Next up would be Don Drysdale‘s 58 scoreless inning streak, which also took place in 1968. Then, it’s the top spot where Orel Hershiser stands with 59 consecutive scoreless innings that he threw as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers back in 1988.
The challenges ahead for Sanchez
Looking at the upcoming starts for Sanchez, his next start – barring any rainouts or other issues – would come at home next Wednesday (June 3) and would again be against San Diego. The following start would be June 8 in Toronto. If he were to throw his average number of innings per start this season (6.2) in each of those two games and not allow a run in either start, he would be at exactly 58 innings. Sanchez would then need one more game to reset the MLB record for consecutive innings without allowing a run. That start would be in the final game of a series in Milwaukee in a Thursday afternoon game.
That would bring up an interesting decision. The Phillies return home the next night to open a series against Miami at Citizens Bank Park. Would Sanchez pitch in Milwaukee or look to reset the MLB record at home the next night? Of course, there are always rainouts and other changes to the rotation that may affect things prior to then. He would also need to keep the streak alive for another 15.1 innings.
It’s worth pointing out that next week’s start against the Padres would be the first time in the streak that he has faced the same team. In fact, The first team that Sanchez faced for a second time this season was San Francisco, which is when he began the streak after allowing two runs in the first one-third of an inning.
Please scroll down to comment on this story or to give it a rating. We appreciate your feedback!
Disclaimer: Some of the products featured or linked on this website may generate income for Philly Baseball News through affiliate commissions, sponsorships, or direct sales. We only promote items we believe in, but please assume that PBN may earn a cut from qualifying purchases that you make using a link on this site.
© 2026 LV Sports Media. All rights reserved.
