Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Christopher Sánchez is having an incredible season, and if it continues this way, some Los Angeles Dodgers legends could be eclipsed in the history books.
Sánchez current streak of 44.2 scoreless innings in the same season is good for seventh best in the Live Ball Era (since 1920), as reported by Paul Casella of MLB.com.
Mar 18, 2025; Bradenton, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Christopher Sanchez (61) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates during spring training at LECOM Park. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images
In his last outing, he overtook Dodgers great Clayton Kershaw, who threw 41 straight scoreless innings from June 13 to July 10, 2014 — the season in which he won National League MVP and the NL Cy Young Award.
Now, Sánchez has three more former Dodgers in his sights.
Who remains in front of Christopher Sánchez?
If Sánchez goes one more inning, he’ll pass a pair of San Francisco Giants — Sal Maglie and Carl Hubbell — and tie Dodger Zack Greinke, who threw 45.2 scoreless innings from June 18 to July 26, 2015, the year after Kershaw’s streak.
After that, he next stands to overtake the St. Louis Cardinal Bob Gibson’s 47 innings in 1968, explains Andrew Simon of MLB.com.
Then, only two legendary Dodgers stand in Sánchez’s way, though it’s a marked jump up.
Another scoreless outing most likely puts Sánchez into third place all-time, but in second place is Don Drysdale’s 58 straight scoreless innings from May 14 to June 8, 1968.
Given the difference — 11 innings — it would require at least one more start from Sánchez, and given the pitch counts of current hurlers, probably two more.
It’s also worth noting that while Drysdale’s 58 innings are second place in the Live Ball Era, it’s also second best in the Dead Ball Era, which makes the Dodger in the top spot even more impressive.
Orel Hershiser went 59 straight innings without allowing a run from Aug. 30 to Sept. 28, 1988.
So if Sánchez can catch Drysdale, Hershiser isn’t much further off — though that’s only if you count the regular season, which is the case for the record books.
Hershiser pitched eight more scoreless innings in the NLCS on Oct. 4, bringing his actual total to 67.
Do you think Christopher Sánchez will pass those Dodger greats?
LA Baseball Report
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