Cristopher Sánchez

Good timing on my part for being in Philadelphia last Wednesday where I watched the National League's Pitcher of the Month for May.  Cristopher Sanchez baffled the Padres hitters early on, taking a no-hitter into the 4th inning while stretching his consecutive shutout streak past 50 innings -- the longest ever by a lefty -- until, on this swing, Jackson Merrill singled in the 7th for San Diego's first run of the night.

While Sanchez never matched Orel Hershiser's record of 59 scoreless, it places him in some great company (Don Drysdale, Walter Johnson and Jack Coombs stand 2-3-4 on the list, with the Phillies ace, fifth).  And it highlights a remarkable month where he not only gave up zero runs, but struck out 45 batters while walking only three!  The Citizens Bank Park video board offered this salute while the crowd of more than 40,000 gave Sanchez a minute-long standing ovation.



 

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