NEW YORK — The Phillies lost a game and a series on Tuesday night. Now they’ll hope they haven’t lost much more.
Cristopher Sanchez exited after the second inning of a 5-1 Phillies loss with left forearm soreness. He’ll be reevaluated more in the coming days but this is obviously not a good development for the Phils, who are trying to get Aaron Nola right and don’t yet have Ranger Suarez in their rotation.
Sanchez saw a team doctor after leaving the game and went through movement drills in the training room.
“Right now, I feel normal,” he said. “I think it’s not going to be a thing we have to worry about. … The doc checked me out and I feel positive that we’re not gonna have to be worried about this.”
While that’s better than the alternative, Sanchez is not out of the woods yet. The Phillies have not yet determined whether he’ll go for an MRI but it’s a possibility. So is delaying his next start, which would be Tuesday at home against the Nationals.
“After talking to him, I’m not as concerned as when he came out,” catcher J.T. Realmuto said. “It’s a really scary spot on a pitcher but he seems to be doing all right and structurally seems to be in good shape.”
Sanchez threw a ton of pitches in his two innings — 31 in the first inning, 27 in the second. His sinker velocity was down and he didn’t have his best changeup after striking out 12 Giants in a dominant win last Thursday.
Realmuto could tell something was up in the bullpen before the game but thought it might be a finger issue Sanchez experienced against the Giants.
“In the bullpen, he was just a little more erratic than he usually is,” Realmuto said. “His fastball command wasn’t good at all, his pitches weren’t doing what they normally do.
“… What I was seeing in the bullpen kinda continued the first couple of innings. He just wasn’t himself.”
Mets starter Griffin Canning also labored early but both pitching staffs minimized damage to keep it a 2-1 game through six innings. This Phillies-Mets series has looked a lot like the 2024 NLDS — close contests broken open late by the Mets after the Phils failed time and again to pick up the one big hit needed to tie or take a lead.
The Phillies were 3-for-6 with men on base when Johan Rojas singled in Realmuto in the bottom of the second but went 1-for-13 from there. They stranded nine runners after leaving eight on base in Monday’s loss.
Once 8-2, the Phils are 13-11 and trail the Mets by four games in the NL East.
Juan Soto has made little impact on the series, going 0-for-8, but Francisco Lindor and Mark Vientos continue to kill the Phillies. Vientos is 10-for-19 with three doubles and two homers in his last five games against the Phils. Lindor has been both a table-setter and run producer. It’s hard not to notice how much more of an impact he’s made in this head-to-head matchup than fellow shortstop Trea Turner, who has hit just .190 against the Mets in 24 games as a Phillie.
Manager Rob Thomson used five relievers to cover the third through eighth innings behind Sanchez. Joe Ross was most effective with three scoreless innings and three strikeouts. Ross hasn’t had a smooth start to his Phillies career but Tuesday was one of the major reasons why he was signed — to take down multiple innings if needed after a short start.
He and everyone else on the pitching staff will become more important if Sanchez is forced to miss time with the forearm injury. It could keep Taijuan Walker in the rotation and speed up Suarez’ return from a rehab assignment. Suarez (low back stiffness) has been sharp in three minor-league starts and threw 59 pitches over five scoreless innings Tuesday night for Lehigh Valley. The Phillies still intend to pitch Suarez one more time at Triple A on Sunday, Thomson said after Tuesday’s loss.
“Well, he’s one of the best pitchers in the National League,” Thomson said of Sanchez. “Other people would have to pick it up. But I’m not anticipating that yet.”
All that’s left in this series is to avoid a sweep. Zack Wheeler gives the Phillies their best chance to do so on Wednesday but even he needs offense. The Phillies have scored in just two of their last 20 innings.
“Just not getting the big hit enough,” Realmuto said. “We’re hitting into too many double plays, not getting enough hits with runners in scoring position. Especially against a team that pitches this well, we have to capitalize when we have runners out there.”
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