In his first chance to square off with the organization that signed him as an amateur in 2015 and traded him away four years later, Sixto Sanchez made it count.
MLB Pipeline's No. 22 overall prospect twirled his first career complete game, a three-hitter over seven stellar innings, as the
In his first chance to square off with the organization that signed him as an amateur in 2015 and traded him away four years later, Sixto Sanchez made it count.
MLB Pipeline's No. 22 overall prospect twirled his first career complete game, a three-hitter over seven stellar innings, as the Marlins edged the Phillies, 2-1, in the opener of Sunday's doubleheader in Miami.
"I've got to tell you, I was more motivated to pitch against the Phillies," Sánchez told reporters through an interpreter. "I had my plan. I went out there with my head held high and got the victory. That makes me really happy."
Sánchez started on a roll, retiring 13 of the first 14 batters and facing just one over the minimum through five innings. The lone blemish on the right-hander’s line through five was a leadoff double to right field by Alec Bohm in the second, extending the top Phillies prospect's hitting streak to five games. After moving to third on a groundout to second by Phil Gosselin, Bohm scored on a sacrifice fly by Andrew Knapp.
Sánchez erased a walk in the fifth to Knapp by getting Adam Haseley to bounce into an inning-ending double play. After hitting Kyle Garlick with a pitch to open the sixth, the top Marlins prospect induced another double play, this one by Ronald Torreyes.
Didi Gregorius drew a one-out walk in the seventh after Sánchez fanned Bohm on a 100.4 mph heater to open his final frame.
"With Bohm, I wanted to strike him out with a fastball," Sánchez said. "That's what I wanted to do."
After Knapp lined to center, Haseley singled to left to put the potential tying run in scoring position, but the 22-year-old got Garlick to bounce to shortstop to end the game.
Sánchez threw 59 of 90 pitches for strikes, fanning four and walking three.
“That was huge to throw the complete game there,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “He kept his pitch count down and he kind of stayed on the attack all game long.”
Sánchez signed with the Phillies out of the Dominican Republic in 2015 and was one of his organization’s most touted prospects when he was traded to Miami on Feb. 7, 2019 as part of the package to land big league catcher J.T. Realmuto. He split his first season in the Marlins system between Class A Advanced Jupiter and Double-A Jacksonville, going 8-6 with a 2.76 ERA and 103 strikeouts over 114 innings.
On Sunday, he improved to 3-1 while lowering his ERA to 1.69 through five starts since making his Major League debut on Aug. 22.
“It got a little nervous in that first game because we weren’t able to add on,” Mattingly said after his team completed the sweep. “We had the bases loaded and one out. Those are points in a game where a hit there or a couple of hits there, you kind of put that game away early. Sixto really took us the rest of the way with that.”
Bohm went 1-for-3 to nudge his OPS to .845. MLB Pipeline's No. 28 overall prospect is batting .377/.393/.528 in September.
In other action:
Marlins 8, Phillies 2 (2nd game)
Jazz Chisholm , Miami’s fourth-ranked prospect, punched a single to left field and came around to score in the sixth inning en route to the sweep. No. 10 Monte Harrison batted for Corey Dickerson and beat out an infield single later in the frame. In his Major League debut, seventh-ranked Braxton Garrett notched the win. The 23-year-old southpaw allowed one run on three hits and two walks while whiffing six over five innings. Top Phillies prospect Alec Bohm mashed his third dinger of the season, a solo blast to center field off Garrett in the second. Box score
Twins 7, Indians 5
Ryan Jeffers went yard for the third time in two games. The sixth-ranked Minnesota prospect belted a two-run shot to left-center off No. 10 Indians prospect Triston McKenzie in the fifth inning. The 23-year-old right-hander suffered his first loss after giving up five runs on three hits and a walk over 4 1/3 innings. McKenzie struck out seven but was tagged for three long balls. No. 17 James Karinchak walked two batters while recording two outs. The righty hasn’t allowed a run in his last three appearances, dropping his ERA to 2.49. Box score
Blue Jays 7, Mets 3
Santiago Espinal cleared the bases in a five-run sixth inning with his fourth double of the year, a drive to left off reliever Jared Hughes The Jays' No. 21 prospect plated a career-high three runs and is batting .246 over 24 games. No. 23 Thomas Hatch allowed two runs on four hits in his lone inning. Mets No. 12 prospect David Peterson took the loss, despite giving up two runs on three hits and two walks over five frames. Third-ranked Andrés Giménez struck out after as a pinch-hitter in the ninth. Box score
Mariners 7, D-backs 3
In his third game of the season, M's No. 25 prospect Donovan Walton plated a career-high three runs. He had an RBI groundout in the second inning, then doubled in two more runs -- his first hit of the year -- off left-hander Travis Bergen in the sixth. Eighth-ranked Justin Dunn gave up a run on a hit and five walks while fanning five in two innings for Seattle. No. 20 Joey Gerber was credited with his fourth hold after issuing a walk and striking out one in a scoreless fifth. Third-ranked Arizona prospect Daulton Varsho went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. No. 28 Pavin Smith singled in the seventh and scored a run. Box score
Reds 10, Cardinals 5
Fourth-ranked Reds prospect Tyler Stephenson drew a bases-loaded walk in the third inning, then singled and scored a run in the seventh. No. 6 Jose Garcia notched a pair of hits and drove in a run. Jake Woodford, St. Louis’ 13th-ranked prospect, allowed a run on one hit and fanned one in an inning out of the bullpen. Box score
Cubs 12, Brewers 0
Tenth-ranked Brewers prospect Drew Rasmussen worked around a pair of hits in a scoreless eighth inning. After taking over in center field in the eighth, No. 23 Tyrone Taylor went hitless in his sole at-bat. So did the rest of the Brewers as Alec Mills pitched the Cubs' first no-hitter since 2016. Box score
Angels 5, Rockies 3
Ryan Castellani didn’t factor in the decision after giving up an unearned run on one hit and a career-high six walks over 5 2/3 innings. Colorado’s No. 14 prospect struck out four. No. 18 Josh Fuentes hit safely in his third straight game, going 1-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts. Top Angels prospect Jo Adell went 0-for-4 and is hitless in his last six games. Box score
Rangers 6, Athletics 3
Seventh-ranked Texas prospect Anderson Tejeda extended his hitting streak to four games with a 1-for-4 afternoon. He's batting .286 over 11 games. No. 3 prospect Leody Taveras went 0-for-3 with a walk. Ninth-ranked A's prospect Jonah Heim singled in a run in the ninth inning. Box score
Dodgers 8, Astros 1
Fourth-ranked prospect Brusdar Graterol served as the Dodgers' opener and struck out the side while working around a hit in the first inning. No. 21 prospect Victor Gonzalez improved to 3-0 after yielding one hit over a pair of scoreless frames with two punchouts. The southpaw dropped his ERA to 1.13. Fourth-ranked Houston prospect Cristian Javier relieved starter Zack Greinke and allowed one hit while fanning five over two shutout innings. Box score
Braves 8, Nationals 4
Top Nationals prospect Carter Kieboom singled and struck out twice in four at-bats, while second-ranked Luis Garcia continued his strong rookie season with a pair of hits and a run scored. It was his fourth multi-hit game this month. Box score
Yankees 3, Orioles 1
No. 98 overall prospect Ryan Mountcastle went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts as Baltimore got swept in a four-game series. It was his first 0-for-4 effort since Sept. 1 and dropped his September slash line to .359/.422/.564. Box score
Red Sox 6, Rays 3
Third-ranked Boston prospect Bobby Dalbec keeps raking. He singled once in four trips to the plate to run his hitting streak to seven games as the Red Sox earned a split of their four-game series against Tampa Bay. Box score
White Sox 5, Tigers 2
The White Sox finished off a three-game sweep and notched their eighth win in nine contests with help from a new face. Sixth-ranked prospect Jonathan Stiever, promoted to the big club earlier Sunday, got the start and allowed a run on two hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings. No. 26 prospect Matt Foster contributed two innings of scoreless relief, fanning two and working around a pair of hits. No. 6 Tigers prospect Isaac Paredes went 1-for-4 with a double. Box score
Tyler Maun is a reporter for MiLB.com and co-host of “The Show Before The Show” podcast. You can find him on Twitter @tylermaun.
