October 03, 2025
Eric Hartline/Imagn Images
Cristopher Sánchez's next big challenge: Leading the Phillies' rotation through the postseason.
Cristopher Sánchez pitches on his terms.
From earning a place near the back of the rotation, to climbing up toward the middle of it, to earning that first All-Star nod and a place in the Cy Young conversation, and now to leading the Phillies into the postseason as their No. 1 starter, it's always been how he's going to attack the opposing lineup, not the other way around.
"He has like an aura of confidence about him," said catcher J.T. Realmuto a day before the Phillies take on the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. "Like he goes into the [pregame meeting] not necessarily worrying about what the opposing team does well. He just talks about himself and how he wants to attack and what works for him. That's something I think is really cool to see the last few years, him growing that way.
"He's just got so much confidence in what he does that he's not too worried about the opposing team."
And that won't stop with LA, definitely not with what will be an electric Citizens Bank Park of around 45,000 strong behind him on Saturday night to begin the postseason.
Sánchez feeds off that energy, and batters flailing after his changeup once he gets going.
"I don't know metrically if it's any different here," Realmuto said of Sánchez's changeup when pitching at home. "But I do know he loves pitching here, and he loves the atmosphere. What the crowd brings to him, I think, is something that can't be overstated.
"Obviously, his numbers here have been really good the last few years, so there's something he feels in this ballpark where he just feels at home, he feels confident, and he enjoys dominating here."
From Sánchez's perspective...
"It's just fan support overall, and also knowing every inch of this stadium," the left-hander said through the Phillies' Spanish interpreter Diego D'Aniello. "I think those are extra motivations and strong support that you get when you're at home."
And it does seem to make a difference when looking at Sánchez's 2025 home and road splits:
| Split | GS | W-L | ERA | SO/9 | WHIP |
| Home | 15 | 6-0 | 1.94 | 10.6 | 0.901 |
| Road | 17 | 7-5 | 3.02 | 8.4 | 1.217 |
| TOTAL | 32 | 13-5 | 2.50 | 9.4 | 1.064 |
The Phillies are pinning a large part of their World Series aspirations on him keeping that trend going.
They don't have their usual ace Zack Wheeler anymore after they lost him for the season due to a blood clot.
It forced Sánchez, who had already been pitching lights out well before, into the No. 1 spot as the new headliner for a lefty-heavy rotation also starring Jesús Luzardo and Ranger Suárez.
He answered the call, yet again, and now he'll face his next biggest one on Saturday night when he leads the Phils into the next October run against a strong Dodgers lineup that includes two-way megastar Shohei Ohtani both on the mound and at the top of the LA order.
It's a dangerous lineup to navigate, from Ohtani to Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts on down.
The Cincinnati Reds learned that real quick after getting tagged for 18 runs in a 2-0 sweep for the NL Wild Card round.
But Sánchez isn't about to back down. He's pitching on his terms.
"All opponents are dangerous," Sánchez said via D'Aniello. "You just gotta go out there and perform."
Now on his biggest stage yet.
Cristopher Sánchez salutes the Citizens Bank Park crowd after his final start before the postseason.
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