Some years ago, I learned that Canada has a fast food chain known as New York Fries. I am from New York, and I do not know of any particular connection between that fair city (state? I assume it’s named for the city?) and fries. I have always been somewhat baffled by this. Sort of like how the Blue Jays were baffled by Cristopher Sánchez tonight.
The game started when Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner struck out and grounded out respectively. Turner wasn’t sent down on a force out, but rather on a tag, as an errant throw pulled Vladimir Guerrero Jr. off the bag. Bryce Harper made it to first when Toronto left fielder Yohendrick Piñango misjudged a fly’s trajectory just enough, with the ball bouncing off his glove for an error. Harper would’ve had more than one base, but he missed the bag as he rounded first, and had to turn back. Everyone was just a little off, a tad confused, like I was when I discovered that Canadian Smarties aren’t the same as American Smarties (they’re like M&Ms, but with a slightly thicker shell. Highly recommended, if you can find them). The bottom of the first, happily, was quite ordinary, as Sánchez handled the Jays with his usual efficiency.
The fireworks in the top of the second were of a more favorable sort. With two outs, Bryson Stott worked a double, and Adolis García sent a slider soaring swiftly into the SkyDome seats (Disclaimer: I am aware it is now the Rogers Center. For the sake of alliteration, I choose to ignore this). The third inning saw the Phillies load the bases without a hit: two walks and a hit by pitch. They got their first hit of the inning via Alec Bohm, who sent one through the gap on the left side of the infield to score one. Realmuto sent his pitch right up the middle to score another. Stott’s patience at the plate must make him frustrating for any pitcher; even more so when the bases are loaded for the third consecutive batter. Stott walked, and the Phillies had more baserunners in the inning than Saskatchewan has lentils (Saskatchewan is a leading producer of lentils). The Jays put Phillies out at home on the next two balls in play, and the Phillies ended the inning up 5-0, having thoroughly tortured the passerine pitcher.
The Jays put their first runner on via Myles Straw double to lead off the third, advanced him via groundout, then scored him via another. That was a good development for the Jays; but it was not accompanied by more. Cristopher Sánchez continued to stymie the Jays, who lost their hitting coach when he objected to a call a little too vociferously.
Corbin departed after the fourth, with Simeon Woods Richardson, winner of the prestigious “Pitcher With A Name That Absolutely Sounds Like A Character from Jeeves and Wooster” award five years running, putting the Phillies down in order. No doubt the Drones Club will be buzzing about that.
They’ll buzz even more about Ernie Clement’s solo shot against Sánchez in the bottom fifth, which narrowed the Philadelphia lead to three. It seemed like it would get narrower. Piñango lead off the bottom sixth by reaching third on a ball that bounced off the wall, and then slipped away from García. The slightest mistake would score him. But Sánchez decided to reassert his dominance with a three consecutive strikeouts. He celebrated like a man who had redeemed himself from the pits of defeat. It would be tough to describe the performance that had led up to that redemption as a failure, even if it was technically beneath the lofty standard he’s set for himself in 2026. But everyone needs a struggle to overcome, so that their work may have meaning, and when you’re as ludicrously effective as Sánchez is, you have to adopt a really loose definition of struggle.
If you’re a batter facing him, though, you get to go with the normal definition. Clement made it to base by singling against Sánchez in the seventh, and Straw walked, but no runs scored, because Sánchez is not particularly fazed by mortal concerns like “baserunners”. Afterwards, he took his 10 strikeouts back to the dugout and called it a day.
Brad Keller took over in the eighth. Like Sánchez in the prior inning, he allowed two baserunners, via walk and single, and like Sánchez, he did not grant them the luxury of a trip home. But turnabout is fair play, and Tommy Nance, coming in for the Jays in relief for the ninth, mirrored the accomplishment: Justin Crawford and Schwarber singled, but both were stranded.
The Phillies turned to Jhoan Duran to finish it. It was not one of his best performances; he didn’t record a single strikeout. But after all of the Ks produced tonight by Sánchez, he might’ve just wanted to give Phillies fans a change of pace. He allowed a double, but put the other three Jays he saw down on ground outs. That was the game.
The Phillies are 36-30. The series against the Blue Jays continues Tuesday at 7:07.
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