Cristopher Sánchez shows he can lead Phillies’ rotation in win over Mariners

With Zack Wheeler’s absence, there are questions about how the Phillies’ starting rotation is going to fill out. But there aren’t questions about who will take over as the club’s No. 1 starter.

In Tuesday’s 6-4 Phillies win over the Mariners, Cristopher Sánchez was dominant, adding to his Cy Young case and showing he’s capable of leading his club’s rotation.

Sánchez tied a career-high with 12 strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. After his line closed, the left-hander was charged with two runs. He walked a pair of batters; the second scored in a three-run Mariners top of the seventh, where Orion Kerkering struggled with his command.

Dylan Moore was the final batter Sánchez faced. Moore walked. Sánchez wasn’t thrilled with home plate umpire Erich Bacchus after the plate appearance. Manager Rob Thomson pulled his starter at 96 pitches. Sánchez left the mound to a standing ovation. He tipped his cap as he walked toward the first-base dugout at Citizens Bank Park.

The Mariners got to Sánchez for six hits. The lefty allowed a run to score following a pair of doubles in the second. He escaped a fifth-inning jam by hopping off the mound and fielding a grounder for an eventual 1-3 putout. When Seattle wasn’t recording hits, they weren’t making much contact.

Of Sánchez’s 12 strikeouts, 11 were swinging. Altogether, Sánchez induced 22 whiffs on 46 swings (48%). His best pitch on the night was his changeup. Seven of his strikeouts came with that pitch, all swinging. The Mariners swung at Sánchez’s best offering 21 times. They missed 11 times (52%).

Not only was Sánchez getting Seattle hitters to flail, but he was getting ahead of them. Sánchez fired 26 first-pitch strikes on the night. He faced 27 batters. According to MLB.com’s Paul Casella, it was the highest first-pitch strike percentage (96.3%) for a Phillies pitcher since tracking started in 2000.

Following Tuesday’s outing, Sánchez’s Cy Young case continues to strengthen. Since the start of June, he has a 1.94 ERA in 14 starts — the best in the National League. On the season, Sánchez is top-five in the majors in wins above replacement for pitchers, according to FanGraphs. His ERA sits at 2.46 across 157 innings in 25 starts with 169 strikeouts.

Most importantly, though, Sánchez showed that he can be the rock atop the Phillies’ starting rotation for however long they’ll need him to fill that role.