With his clean sheet through the end of the bottom of the fourth inning at Petco Park in San Diego, Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez set a new franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings at 41 2/3.
The original record of 41 straight scoreless was set by Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1911 -- a mere 18 years since the pitcher's mound was codified as 60 feet, 6 inches from home plate.
Sanchez' streak officially sits at 44 2/3 innings after he worked 7 scoreless frames innings in an eventual 3-0 victory over the Padres to close out a 3-game sweep on Wednesday afternoon.
Sanchez ended his outing with exactly 100 pitches, 67 for strikes. He struck out 9 and walked none, yielding just 6 hits. It is the ninth time this season in 12 starts Sanchez has worked at least 6 full innings.
"It's something special. Something really important. I never imagined something like this so I'm just really happy and proud of myself," Sanchez told Phillies broadcasters Tom McCarthy and John Kruk immediately following the conclusion of the contest through his interpreter,
On surviving a couple close calls with balls hit deep int the outfield, requiring expert plays: "It was crazy today. (Padres infielder Manny) Machado was really going for me, but he couldn't."
"Just staying calm and thinking about one pitch at a time," he added when asked about working through those rare times runners were on base. "If you take it one pitch at a time and try not to be over aggressive."
Current Phils radio color commentator Larry Andersen still holds the record for consecutive scoreless innings from a relief pitcher, tossing 32 2/3 innings without a blemish back in 1984.
Other Phillies pitchers to toss a significant amount of scoreless innings include, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com:
Cliff Lee 34 IP (2011)
Dick Farrell 32 2/3 IP (1957-58)
Ranger Suarez 32 IP (2024)
Robin Roberts 32 IP (1950)
Ken Heintzelman 32 IP (1949)
In addition, according to longtime baseball writer Jayson Stark, Sanchez now ranks third among all MLB left-handers for consecutive scoreless innings. The others: Doc White (45 IP, 1904) and Carl Hubbell (45 1/3 IP, 1933).
Sanchez did not allow a single run of any kind in the month of May, across 5 starts and 39 innings, going 4-1.
The all-time record for consecutive scoreless innings by any pitcher is 59 innings, accomplished in 1988 by Cherry Hill High School East graduate and veteran hurler Orel Hershiser, for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Per Langs, after Hershiser, the record of scoreless innings for all pitchers are as follows: Don Drysdale (58 IP, 1968) Bob Gibson (47 IP, 1968) Zack Greinke (45 2/3 IP, 2015).
"He's been really good for quite a long time now," said Phils shortstop Trea Turner following the game, which featured the rest of the club toasting Sanchez in the locker room. "When you're that consistent, you're going to start putting your name up there with those other guys. He deserves it."
If nothing else, Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar is direct and to the point.
It is a hallmark of a significant number of Slavic peoples. Evidence of this, as far as the franchise is concerned, stretches back at least as far as former defenseman and Czechia native Petr Svoboda’s assessment of Buffalo upon his acquisition by Philadelphia in the spring of 1995, as told by long-time backliner Chris Therien.
So when Vladar told an assembled throng of team personnel and media on players’ breakup day, May 12, that he’s intensely ruminating over the final goal of the Flyers’ season – a less-than-classic tally scored by Carolina forward Jackson Blake roughly 5 ½ minutes into overtime of a season-ending Game 4 just 17 days ago – with roughly 60-odd hours between the red light and the interview, you gotta believe him.
“I probably watched it 150 times, getting more and more mad and it’s still in me,” he admitted. “That’s another fire that’s going to be driving me forward. Goals happen. They happen every single day around the league. For me, (it’s about) that mentality to give myself a better chance to be a better goalie next year.”
When asked what it was like failing to stop the last shot he faced? “Tough.”
Onto the offseason, and there was more compact communication.
When asked if the undisclosed injury that is definitely in the hand and/or arm area suffered when Penguins winger Bryan Rust strafed him in the first round would affect training over the summer, he offered just five words: “No, I don’t think so.”
When pressed on what, specifically, he could work on this summer, he chose the politician’s route, saying: “We can always get better and obviously there’s gonna be little things that I’m gonna go meet with Dilly (Kim Dillabaugh) our goalie coach here and have a long conversation,” he hedged, but then struck back with this nugget:
“I’m not sure I’m gonna give you any hints right now but there’s gonna be stuff, for sure.”
One of those things that screams out on video, his occasional ability to lose focus when playing the puck. We all know about the twin gaffes against the Penguins and Hurricanes which cost goals. But this is something that goes back to his days with the Flames:
Asked about a contract extension, as Vladar is an unrestricted free agent in July 2027, heading into the final year of his current 2-year, $6.7M deal: “If you ask the same question to Danny B, I’m gonna be watching, so we’ll see what he says.”
Danny B apparently heard him and, two days later, offered little in the way of truthiness. Nonetheless, it’s still curious that rumors of an extension started wafting about a week after the breakup. As reported by at least one beat, the new contract would be in the range of 3-to-6 years, with a shorter term meaning higher average annual value. And if you believe some internet radio host whose face keeps popping up on my YouTube feed for no good or apparent reason, Vladar has some kind of clue, from somewhere, that the Flyers are interested in retaining his services.
If these feelers are true and not just leaks intended to keep the fanbase attuned after the Flyers were eliminated, Briere is about to fall into the trap of extending based on potential and not reality. As true today as it was when I first mentioned it around 2015; hockey logic and human logic don’t often intersect.
Other than not wanting to negotiate or sign in-season, what’s wrong with waiting until, let’s say, next All-Star break to have more data, statistics and trends from which to make a decision?
Vladar appears to have the internal drive and temperament, as well as an advanced standing in media relations, to be a long-time starter for the Flyers. The (multi) million dollar question is, will Vladar be ready to be a true No. 1?
Vladar made some history this past postseason. He joined Bernie Parent, Pelle Lindbergh, Ron Hextall, Michael Leighton and Carter Hart as the only netminders to record more than one shutout within a playoff series.
When the day eventually arrives, he will also become the first, among goaltenders to play at least 40 games in any single year, to record at least one postseason clean sheet before doing so in the regular season.
Vladar laid the foundation for that success with a slew of career bests: highs in wins (29), total minutes (2995:13), tying a career high in save percentage (.906), setting a career low in goals against average (2.42). Saves like these, in Columbus in late January – where flexibility and timing are required – aren’t the kind we need to see often, but it’s good to have in the repertoire:
He ended the year having surrendered 3 or fewer goals in 20 of his final 23 starts since a stinker on March 9 at home vs. the Rangers, also racking up a .922 save pct. and 2.18 GAA across 10 playoff starts. Those stats helped, no doubt, by head coach Rick Tocchet’s system of shot suppression, where the 27-year-old faced 25.16 per game in the regular season.
How does Vladar’s workload measure up to other starters over the last decade?
In 2025-26, he played a total of 62 contests: 52 regular season, 10 playoffs.
In 2024-25, Sam Ersson logged the most with 47 games on his ledger.
Two years back, Ersson appeared 51 times, as Carter Hart, the October starter, played 26 games before his release.
Hart saw action in 55 games in 2022-23.
In 2021-22, Hart appeared 45 times while insurance backup Martin Jones played in 35.
During the COVID year of 2021, Brian Elliott played in 30 of the mandated 56-game slate.
In Alain Vigneault’s first full season, 2019-20, Hart was called on 43 times.
During 2018-19, 8 goaltenders played at least one game, with Hart logging the most at 31 games and Elliott adding 26.
Dave Hakstol’s last full season behind the bench, 2017-18, Elliott got the nod 43 times.
During Hak’s first two seasons, it was Mason as the clear starter, playing in 54 and 58 games, respectively.
Nobody will touch the Flyers’ all-time record for appearances in one season by a goaltender, set by Parent (73 games over a 78-game schedule, 1973-74). A future starter might never even get close to Parent’s 68 appearances in 1974-75 or Martin Biron's same number in 2007-08.
After that:
65 games - Lindbergh (1984-85)
61 games - Mason (2013-14)
60 games - Dominic Roussel (1993-94)
59 games - Ilya Bryzgalov (2011-12)
When asked about the Flyers’ historical lack of maintaining the presence of a No. 1 goaltender, Vladar said that one of the reasons he chose Philadelphia was the opportunity to play and claim the starter’s role. He’s got the reins now. It’s up to the coaching staff and his own performance.
While Briere said during his final presser that he’d have to evaluate whether Ersson would be back next year, here are the financials: Ersson’s current deal expired with restricted free-agent status after earning $1.45M last season. Alexei Kolosov was signed in mid-May to a “show us something, please, we’re begging you” 1-year contract at $850K after earning $925K last year into his own RFA season.
Ersson is a logical choice to be brought back, albeit at a discount. Educated guess, he’d get up to one-third of the work – which would set him up for 25-27 starts and roughly 28-30 appearances. If Ersson is either low-balled or flat-out non tendered, it’s another headache for Briere to have to comb the free-agent market to find a veteran stopgap, because nobody thinks Kolosov is an answer.
That means Vladar would shoulder the burden of 55-57 starts, brushing up against the threshold of the above-mentioned No. 1 guys from the past. Assuming one playoff round, we’re at anywhere from 59-69 appearances if Ersson or another choice falters, it might be more.
“Obviously I’m not satisfied with (last) season. I want more,” Vladar said. “But at the same time I know we have great team staff around here in Philly and also I trust my guys back home in the summer. I think everybody’s on the same page and it’s going to be a conversation we’re gonna have to get me as ready as possible.”
The guy who pitched one of the least likely no-hitters in Phillies franchise history wasn't even supposed to have taken the mound on that Thursday afternoon in Montreal.
Danny Cox, who had appeared twice in the World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals, was the Phils' No. 2 starter in 1991 (behind Terry Mulholland) and was scheduled to take a turn and win the rubber match of a three-game series.
Trouble was, Cox had apparently pulled a muscle and couldn't go.
Enter Tommy Greene.
Greene, clearly the add-on in the August, 1990 deal in which GM Lee Thomas acquired late-career slugger Dale Murphy, had pitched in all of 25 games in the majors until May 23, 1991. He was a swing man for then-Phils manager Jim Fregosi, with his last appearance 6 days prior, in mop-up duty where he picked up the win by tossing the final 4 scoreless innings in a 1-0, 16-inning victory over the Cubs.
Despite being one game below .500, the Phillies were a hurting bunch.
Just over 2 weeks prior, a car accident after a bachelor party for outfielder John Kruk resulted in centerfielder Lenny Dykstra -- who drove while intoxicated and crashed his sports car into a tree in Radnor Township in the early morning hours of May 7 -- suffering a broken collarbone, broken ribs and a broken cheekbone, while starting catcher Darren Daulton sustained a fractured left orbital bone and scratched cornea.
So it was Greene and backup Darren Fletcher the battery at Stade Olympique, opposing Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd, who'd pitched alongside Roger Clemens with the Red Sox for 5 seasons
It had been 281 days since Mulholland no-hit the San Francisco Giants and was one throwing error away from pitching a perfect game that instead went in the books as a 6-0 victory and the first Phillies no-no recorded at Veterans Stadium. Greene was on the bench for that one, having been acquired from the Braves just over a week prior.
As told to MLB.com in 2021, here's Greene's thought process as he took the hill: "Mentally, I told myself I was going to treat this start like I treated my relief appearances. Be aggresstive and go as long and as hard as I can. My thought was 'if I run out of gas, they will put someone else in for me.' Hold nothing back!"
In return, his teammates provided the slimmest of margins for error -- a first-inning RBI triple from Ricky Jordan after Kruk reached with a 2-out double.
Greene did manage to retire 11 in a row at one point, between the 2nd and 5th innings, but had at least 1 runner on base in the 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th and 8th frames. Along with his career-best 10 strikeouts, he walked 7 batters, including two in the 2nd and two more in the 6th.
With three outs to go, Philly's offense came to life for the second and final time, on back-to-back doubles from Von Hayes and Fletcher.
More Greene: "It wasn't until after the seventh inning that I realized I hadn't given up a hit. When I did that, I immediately thought of the three no-hit bids I had coming up through the minor leagues that I lost with two outs and two strikes in the last inning. I said to myself, 'take one batter at a time.' In the bottom of the ninth, I was facing the meat of their order."
Andres Galarraga was his 10th and final punchout for the first out of the 9th. Larry Walker was retired on a routine ground ball to third.
Tim Wallach was the final batter, and here's Greene's mindset as revealed in that 2021 piece: "I then told myseld I was going straight after Tim. I wasn't getting two strikes again unless he fouled pitches off. 'Fletch' put down the sign for a fastball. By then, I had thrown probably over 100 fastballs out of my 135 pitches. I agreed with his sign and said to myself, 'stay aggressive,' and threw the fastball on the outer half of the plate. He swung and hit probably the hardest ball all day but it was a one-hopper right back to me."
The highlight package from KYW 3 tells the rest of the story:
If you remember this game well, you might have been playing sick, or hooky, from either work or school. The final contest in the three-game set against the Expos was a Thursday afternoon first pitch, coming at a time when break time for TV watching at either work or school was reserved for things like the NCAA tournament only when local universities were playing.
After a 4-9 start which cost Nick Leyva his job, long-time major leaguer and former Angels and White Sox skipper Jim Fregosi was called upon from his brief stint in the broadcast booth to bring a desperately needed spark. The 2-0 win brought the Phillies up to the .500 mark for the first (20-20) AND last time all season.
Despite the eventual returns of Dykstra and Daulton, a lack of depth across the roster began to take its toll and by late July, the Phillies were dead last in the NL East.
Only a 13-game win streak and solid play over the remainder of the schedule -- even after Dykstra was lost for the back end of the season after breaking his other collarbone colliding with the outfield wall in Cincinnati -- brought their record to 78-84, good enough for 3rd place in a weak division.
Greene finished the 1991 campaign with a 13-7 record, 2 more complete games and a 3.38 ERA over 207.1 innings. He endured a mostly injury-plagued career from there, the lone exception a brilliant 1993 campaign during which he finihsed 16-4 with 7 complete games and 2 shutouts for the National League champions.
The Phillies would not record another no-hitter until April 27, 2003, at the Vet. Kevin Millwood shut down the Giants, 1-0.
