Phillies 4, Angels 2: Sánchez Goes Seven. The Tenth Finishes It.

Seven zeros. Then Neto found the seats.

August 29, 2026 - Anaheim - Cristopher Sánchez worked seven innings, two hits, no runs, one walk, eight strikeouts. Ninety-one pitches. He left with a 1-0 lead and no decision waiting on the other side of the door.

Jonathan Bowlan inherited that lead. Zach Neto used a 12-pitch at-bat in the eighth and hit his 23rd homer to left-center. 1-1. The Philadelphia Phillies still beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-2 in 10 innings.

Sánchez's ERA dropped to 2.52. His season strikeout total hit 202. The box score still lists Jhoan Duran as the winner.

Marsh's single sat there for eight innings

Ryan Johnson threw 60 of his 88 pitches in the first two innings and walked five over five. Philadelphia made one of those walks count. Alec Bohm singled in the second. Bryson Stott walked. Brandon Marsh singled to center, and Bohm scored. 1-0.

That was the entire scoring until extras. Philadelphia loaded the eighth with a Trea Turner single, a steal, and a Bryce Harper walk. Turner got picked off second. The inning died. Neto tied it two batters later.

Duran threw a scoreless ninth. Trevor Martin (0-1) started the 10th with J.T. Realmuto as the automatic runner. Realmuto's grounder moved the runner. Justin Crawford singled him to third. Kyle Schwarber doubled to left. 2-1. Turner squibbed a two-run single through a drawn-in infield. Garrett Stubbs, running for Schwarber, scored with Crawford. 4-1.

Wade Meckler forced home Denzer Guzman in the bottom of the 10th. Duran (2-4) still closed it. Philadelphia has won 12 of 14. The Angels have lost six straight.

AthX Engine ranked the seven innings, not the decision

AthX Engine put Sánchez at 28 pitching fantasy points, first among Saturday starters. Philadelphia scored 9 team FP, 10th on the slate, which is what a 4-2 extras win looks like when the offense waits until the 10th. Neto’s homer kept Los Angeles from a zero. It did not keep them from a loss.

What's next

Zack Wheeler was lined up for the series finale against Yusei Kikuchi. Sánchez did everything a No. 1 is supposed to do for seven innings. The bullpen and the 10th had to finish the card he could not sign.

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*Sources: MLB Gameday, ESPN recap, MLB schedule, AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*