J.T. Realmuto's go-ahead homer saves a strong Cristopher Sánchez performance in Phillies' win vs. Mariners

Alex Coffey, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Aug 19, 2025

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

PHILADELPHIA — When manager Rob Thomson walked to the mound to pull Cristopher Sánchez with one out in the seventh inning, fans began to stand and cheer. The starter handed Thomson the baseball, headed toward the dugout, and tipped his cap. One man in the Hall of Fame section yelled, “We love you.”

The response felt like more than an appreciation of what Sánchez had done in the Phillies’ 6-4 win over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night. It also seemed to be a reflection of the circumstances.

Thomson has praised Sánchez’s maturity and growth over the past few years, but it will now be put to the test. The Phillies still don’t know whether Zack Wheeler will rejoin the team this year, after undergoing a procedure to remove a blood clot around his upper right arm.

Aaron Nola looked shaky in his first start off the injured list on Sunday. Top pitching prospect Andrew Painter isn’t waiting in the wings. With Wheeler out for the foreseeable future, Sánchez becomes the Phillies’ ace. And on Tuesday night, he looked like one.

Facing a Mariners lineup that ranks third in baseball in home runs, Sánchez struck out 12 — tying a career-high. He allowed only two earned runs on six hits with two walks, finishing his night with 96 pitches (63 strikes).

It was a continuation of what his been strongest season to date, one that has put him back in the Cy Young Award conversation. The left-handed pitcher entered Tuesday’s game ranked third in ERA (2.45) and FIP (2.73) and fourth in innings pitched (150 2/3) among National League starters.

But for as loud as the cheers were for Sánchez, the boos for Orion Kerkering were just as intense. The reliever, who replaced Sánchez in the seventh, immediately allowed two walks to load the bases.

Kerkering induced an RBI groundout, then allowed a two RBI double to tie the game, 4-4. Matt Strahm entered in relief of Kerkering to retire Josh Naylor on a flyout to end the inning.

The Phillies’ lineup made it a moot issue. After Kyle Schwarber put them on the board with a solo home run — his 44th — in the first inning and Bryce Harper drove in Bryson Stott with a sacrifice fly in the third.

J.T. Realmuto followed that with an RBI single in the third, and Bryson Stott added a solo home run in the fourth. Realmuto hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning to give the Phillies a 6-4 lead.

Reliever David Robertson retired the Mariners in order in the eighth, with two strikeouts, and closer Jhoan Duran closed the door in the ninth, inducing two groundouts and a strikeout to end the game.