Cristopher Sanchez joins an elite list of pitchers as he helps the Philadelphia Phillies get their first win of the 2026 season.
The Philadelphia Phillies started off the 2026 season the best way imaginable: a 5-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Opening Day.
Philadelphia won the game, with their scoring primarily coming from home runs from Kyle Schwarber and Alec Bohm, but it was Cristopher Sanchez’s dominant start that set the tone of the game, and for the season, too.
Sanchez made his first Opening Day start in his career, and it, along with his first start of the 2026 season, couldn’t have gone any better.
The Cy Young finalist from a year ago picked up right where he left off, pitching 6.0 innings, allowing just three hits, giving up zero runs, issuing zero walks, and striking out 10 hitters.
With this stat line, Sanchez became the sixth pitcher in MLB history to have 10 or more strikeouts and zero walks with six or more scoreless innings on Opening Day.
Sanchez was virtually unhittable; he ended up with 13 swings and misses, with the majority of those coming from his changeup.
Mar 26, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez (61) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn ImagesEven Schwarber was in awe of what he saw from his starter on Thursday.“It's just, it's really cool to watch,” said Schwarber after the game.
“ I remember this guy when he made his debut, and just from seeing where he was then, where he's at now, and the way that he just continues to keep, maturing and keep coming up with ways to be one of the best pitchers in the game. It's so it's cool to watch, see the demeanor, he's not faced by anything, and great start to the year for him.”
Even Texas Rangers third baseman Jaker Burger was in awe and had few answers for the Phillies pitcher’s arsenal. “I think we saw why he was a runner-up in Cy Yong last year… Obviously he’s an ace. He’s a bonafide superstar in the game,” exclaimed Burger.
The Phillies believe in Sanchez right now and into the future so much that they signed him to a new contract extension just days before he made his first start of the year. In just one outing, Sanchez is proving he was worth every dollar of the contract, and more.
There will be plenty of question marks in Philadelphia’s rotation at the start of the season, but Sanchez being the rock and stabilizer at the top should give the Phillies plenty of confidence throughout the year.
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