Sánchez, who's emerged this season as the National League's Cy Young frontrunner, had allowed zero earned runs with 11 strikeouts across 6 innings in his last start against Baltimore. That form carried over immediately Thursday, and it didn't take long for the Phillies to make it look like business as usual at Citizens Bank Park.
Philadelphia jumped out early and never let go, piling up runs in 4 of the first 6 innings while Sánchez kept Washington's lineup off balance. The Nationals scratched across a run in three separate frames but never strung enough together to make it a threat.
The final line told the whole story: 16 hits for Philadelphia against 8 for Washington, a lopsided total that reflected just how thoroughly the Phillies' lineup ran through Mikolas and the Nationals' bullpen. It was the kind of complete, top-to-bottom performance the Phillies have leaned on during their recent surge.
That surge is exactly why this loss stings a little more for Washington. The Nationals had clawed back to take 1 of the first 3 in this series, riding that blowout win, only to watch the Phillies reassert control right away. Philadelphia, now with a win in 4 of its last 5, looked like a team that's simply built deeper on both sides of the ball right now.
Wood's absence looms over Washington's offense until he's cleared to return, and the rotation is thin behind Mikolas with Connelly Early's throwing program paused over forearm tightness. Philadelphia, meanwhile, gets some encouraging injury news of its own, with Andrew Painter's hamstring MRI coming back clean and Derek Hill working his way back off the bench — depth pieces that matter as the Phillies try to keep this kind of night from feeling like a one-off.