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PHILADELPHIA — A six-man pitching rotation in place for a while, the Phillies are aware that it soon must be shaved to a more practical number.
In a 13-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins Friday, Cristopher Sanchez gave another example of why such right-sizing can be difficult.
Though touched for a couple of second-inning solo home runs, Sanchez was effective in his six-inning start. Comforted by an explosive offensive outburst, the left-hander allowed two runs, struck out five, walked three and was touched for six hits. .
With the Phillies about to hit some off days, and with Sanchez still with remaining options, the 26-year-old might be down to one more start before the trimming begins. Still, he continues to appear anything but out of place in a rotation with Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Taijuan Walker, Ranger Suarez and Michael Lorenzen.
“I am not thinking about that,” he said. “All I am doing is trying to help my team win.”
By the time Bryson Stott and J.T. Realmuto hit back-to-back home runs to right in the sixth, the Phillies would own a nine-run lead. In the eighth that edge would balloon to 11 when Johan Rojas hit his first major-league home run, a two-run shot to left off of Jordan Luplow, an infielder mopping up with a 48-mile-per-hour pitch.
Sanchez had pitched well since being recalled from Lehigh Valley June 6, with his 0.90 WHIP tops in the majors since then among pitchers appearing in a minimum of 45 innings. His 2.66 ERA was 12th best among left-handers with at least seven starts.
Still, at 0-3, Sanchez was looking for his first win of the season. The Phillies would give him a splendid chance, using a six-run second inning and a three-run fourth for their largest lead in a game since the All-Star break.
The Twins, who entered with an AL Central best record of 60-57, took a 2-0 lead in the second, hitting back-to-back home runs for eighth time this season. Jorge Polanco went first, redirecting a 1-0 pitch into the leftfield seats, and Max Kepler hit his 19th of the season to right three pitches later.
But the Phillies, who had won five of their last six to inflate a cushion in the wild card race, quickly responded by pounding Dallas Keuchel and sending 11 men to the plate in the second.
Nick Castellanos started the rally with a double to left, extending his hitting streak to 12 games. He scored on a double to right center from Stott, who scored on a Realmuto single. After Weston Wilson walked and Edmundo Sosa was nipped on the shoe by a pitch, Rojas delivered Realmuto on a fielder’s choice.
Kyle Schwarber followed with an RBI single and Alec Bohm added a run-scoring single to center before Castellanos singled for his second hit of the inning.
Schwarber and Bohm were walked by Brent Headrick to begin the fourth. Trea Turner, moved into the three spot in the order as Bryce Harper took the night off with back spasms, clubbed a double to left, then scored on Castellanos’ third hit in as many innings. Turner, who added a seventh-inning double, scored on Stott’s sacrifice fly to center.
“One thing hitting him third does is keep all the other guys in their normal spot, where they are comfortable at,” Thomson said of Turner. “And he’s been swinging the bat well. He is backing the ball up now and barreling balls up and not jumping and hitting balls off the end of the bat.
“So when he does that, he’s really good.”
Stott’s home run was his career-high 11th. Realmuto’s was his 15th. It was the third time this season and the second in four days that the Phillies hit back-to-back homers. Schwarber and Bohm did so in the third inning of the first game of a Tuesday doubleheader against Washington.
Before a crowd of 33,071, Sanchez threw 67 of his 107 pitches for strikes.
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