You might’ve heard that Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez just recorded one of the best calendar months the sport has seen in a very, very long time. He has thrown 44 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings and hasn’t allowed a run since April 30.
On the latest episode of “Baseball Bar-B-Cast,” the hosts dug into Sánchez’s amazing streak and where he stands in what is shaping up to be a very competitive race for the National League Cy Young Award. Let’s run through some of the contenders and what Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman had to say about them.
Cristopher Sánchez, Philadelphia Phillies
“This is the seventh-longest [scoreless innings] streak of the live-ball era (since 1920). Longest ever by a left-handed pitcher. He has had five straight scoreless starts. He has been scoreless in the month of May. Over that span, 3 walks and 45 strikeouts. This is unbelievable what Cristopher Sánchez is doing,” Mintz declared.
Shusterman noted that Sánchez got off to a rocky start to the season (like the Phillies). He allowed 12 hits and 6 runs against the Cubs on April 23, right before this streak started, but the way he was throwing and the underlying numbers suggested that he was unlucky.
“Now it’s gone so far in the other direction, where it’s like, ‘Oh my god, this is one of the greatest stretches of pitching we’ve ever seen,’” he said.
The hosts agreed that, as of now, Sánchez has to be the starter for the NL in the All-Star Game this summer in Philadelphia.
Shusterman recapped Misiorowski’s month of May: 31 1/3 innings, 11 hits, 1 run (“no streak for Miz, sorry”), 6 walks, 49 strikeouts. “So he’s got more strikeouts than Sánchez in eight fewer innings.”
“Miz is really just doing it right now. He looks as dominant as any pitcher that we’ve had in quite some time,” Shusterman said.
The question of whose month of May was better is a tough one, but the hosts gave the nod to the pitcher who didn’t allow a run.
Ohtani threw 6 no-hit innings against the Rockies this week, though he did allow a run in that outing.
“He is much farther behind when it comes to innings, which is the whole conversation when it comes to Ohtani and the Cy Young,” Shusterman said. “However, even though he is not quite qualified because he’s only at 55 innings, he now is tied with Paul Skenes … for third in pitcher fWAR among National League starters.”
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“Oh my god, Chris Sale was throwing harder than he has been in, like, seven years,” Shusterman said. “Sale’s just going full Verlander. That’s really the only comp that I can think of.”
Sale, at 37 years old, is in the top five in the NL in innings pitched and ERA.
“He looks unbelievable, when we thought he was on the verge of retiring,” Shusterman said.
So long as Mason Miller keeps pitching the way he has been, the Padres’ closer will likely stay in the Cy Young conversation. But, as Shusterman noted, “if the field of starting pitchers is this strong, Mason Miller’s got no shot.”
“You should’ve stayed in the AL, bro!” Mintz added.
This is a very, very crowded NL field, which is reflected in how far down this list Yamamoto appears.
“Yamamoto is nowhere near this conversation, and it’s not like he’s having a bad year,” Shusterman said.
For more on the NL Cy Young race and other MLB topics, listen to “Baseball Bar-B-Cast” wherever you get your podcasts.
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