Philadelphia left-hander Cristopher Sánchez extended his scoreless innings streak to 41 2/3 innings on Wednesday to set the Phillies franchise record by passing Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander.
Sánchez reached the milestone by getting through the four full innings he needed to pass Alexander, who had a 41-inning scoreless streak in 1911.
There was a heart-stopping moment, though, as Manny Machado lifted a fly ball to left that Edmundo Sosa caught just in front of the wall leading off the fourth. Sánchez struck out Xander Bogaerts, Ramon Laureano doubled to left and then the lefty got Jackson Merrill to ground out to second base to set the record.
Machado had homered in Tuesday night’s 4-3 Phillies win.
The Padres stranded runners in scoring position in the first and second innings, and Gavin Sheets lifted a fly ball just in front of the warning track in right to end the third.
The 29-year-old Sánchez came in with a 5-2 record and 1.62 ERA.
The streak dates back to the second inning of the first game of a doubleheader against San Francisco on April 30.
His start Wednesday lined up perfectly against a Padres offense that is struggling. San Diego went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position in a 3-0 loss in the series opener on Monday night and then 0 for 2 in Tuesday night’s loss.
Reporting by the Associated Press.
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