That ended Sanchez’s night and Jose Ruiz was brought in to mitigate the damage. But there was no mitigation to be had. Ruiz allowed three more runs to score, and the Sox might have gotten even more if they didn’t make yet another out on the basepaths.
Spencer Turnbull was asked to keep the game close, but instead served up a two-run home run to David Hamilton, extending the Red Sox lead to 8-4.
Down by four, the Phillies got a run back in the seventh, and another in the ninth. But Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen made sure they didn’t get any closer.
Based on some of the reactions on social media, you wouldn’t have thought that this performance wasn’t an aberration in the Phillies’ season. The more level-headed fans remembered that even the best pitching staffs can have off nights, and Sanchez’s poor showing might be partly attributed to him having not pitched in over a week.
The Phillies will look to rebound tomorrow night in the series finale. Aaron Nola is scheduled to start, and while he is similarly dealing with extended rest, hopefully can he work past that and pitch the Phillies to a series victory.
The Phillies looked like they were headed towards their second straight win over the Red Sox. They got off to a 4-0 lead, Cristopher Sanchez was keeping the Sox offense at bay, and everything seemed swell. But in the fifth inning, the Sox got to Sanchez for a few hits, Whit Merrifield committed a costly error, and the bullpen made everything worse. The end result was a disappointing 8-6 loss.
Before the game, many people predicted that the team would struggle against former Phillie Nick Pivetta. But it was clear from the first batter than Pivetta didn’t have it on Wednesday night. He walked Kyle Schwarber (one of Pivetta’s four walks in four innings) to lead off the game, Nick Castellanos followed with a double, and Bryce Harper drove in the first run with an infield single.
Bryson Stott followed with an RBI ground out and the Phillies had an early 2-0 lead. RBI hits by Whit Merrifield and David Dahl extended the lead to 4-0 in the third, and based on how the Phillies’ pitching staff has performed for most of the season, it was easy to envision the team coasting to victory.
But the pitching staff wasn’t up to its usual standards. Sanchez kept the Sox off the board in the first three innings, but he never looked especially sharp. There were multiple hard-hit balls, and the Red Sox made a couple of outs on the basepaths. His luck finally ran out in the fourth when Rafael Devers hit a triple and came home on a Jamie Westbrook sacrifice fly.
In the fifth inning, things got ugly. The first two Red Sox batters singled, and then this happened.
Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez throws a pitch vs the Red Sox - June 12, 2024 - Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images
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