![\"Oct](\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_56,w_4338,h_2440\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/6\/01k6tkhmjvqsfmtjwahv.jpg\")
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If there was any doubt if the Philadelphia Phillies had the right guy on the mound to start Game 1 of the NLDS, let there be none now. Left-hander Cristopher S\u00e1nchez got the ball to kick off a massive series against the Los Angeles Dodgers and delivered a gem to please the home crowd.<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez became the obvious choice after the season-ending injury to ace Zack Wheeler. With the shock of losing their No. 1, S\u00e1nchez immediately became the Phillies’ top starter.<\/p>\n
There were still questions about S\u00e1nchez’s ability to rise to the moment in such a pressure-filled environment, but he left little doubt after his masterful outing on Saturday night. He went toe-to-toe with Shohei Ohtani, who was making his postseason pitching debut.<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez’s dominance was apparent from the beginning, and he cruised through the first five scoreless innings. His only blip was the two runs he allowed in the sixth before being pulled. He finished his day with 5 2\/3 innings pitched, four hits, two runs, two walks and eight strikeouts on 94 pitches. Seventeen of his first 24 pitches were strikes.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the dominance from their starter wasn’t enough for the Phillies to hold down the Dodgers as they rallied to take the first game with a final score of 5-3.<\/p>\n 8 Ks for Cris#RedOctober pic.twitter.com\/Faec9KR8bR<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/Phillies\/status\/1974633617264681263?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1974633617264681263%7Ctwgr%5E1adef5b6357f85cece4899fba6dc1235bb589aaf%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthatballsouttahere.com%2Fphillies-cristopher-sanchez-completed-his-final-ascent-to-ace-status-in-game-1-loss<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n S\u00e1nchez was as dominant as Phillies fans could have hoped for, given how hot the Dodgers were coming into Saturday. They swept the Reds in two games in the Wild Card round and were looking to give S\u00e1nchez a run for his money.<\/p>\n He didn’t let that happen and even kept this year’s NL MVP favorite completely silenced. Against S\u00e1nchez, Ohtani went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. His first one was on three pitches, while the other two were caught looking. According to MLB.com’s Paul Casella, S\u00e1nchez was just trying to treat it like any other game.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, it’s just a regular matchup,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said through an interpreter, per Casella. \u201cI try to go out there and attack early on, and execute my plan. As I would do with every other hitter, I just want to follow my plan and get results.\u201d<\/p>\n S\u00e1nchez also did the same against the Dodgers’ top four hitters. The combination of Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez and Freddie Freeman went a combined 1-for-11 with six strikeouts against S\u00e1nchez.<\/p>\n While he did exactly what he needed to do to inject excitement at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies dropped an important Game 1, but there’s more of the series left. If the Phillies can extend the series, even by one game, S\u00e1nchez will get the ball again in a massive Game 4. Phillies fans will like their chances if they have their new ace getting the ball again to carry them.<\/p>\n Cristopher S\u00e1nchez proved he was ready for the big moment in Game 1 of the NLDS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":103571,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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