Phillies’ Cristopher Sánchez feels ‘normal’ after throwing; uncertain when he will pitch again

CHICAGO — The rain showers that delayed the start of a series-opening matinee here Friday held off long enough for Phillies pitchers to get in their pregame throwing.

Yes, Cristopher Sánchez was among them.

Three days after leaving early from a start in New York with left forearm tightness, Sánchez played catch, as expected, from 60 feet before moving back to 90 feet. He ran in the outfield, then huddled with a trainer.

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And when he was through, Sánchez reiterated that he felt, well, back to normal.

It remains unclear when Sánchez will pitch again. His turn in the rotation comes up Tuesday night at home against the Nationals, but manager Rob Thomson said Zack Wheeler will start that game on five days’ rest.

Because the Phillies were idle Thursday and have another day off Monday, they could push Sánchez back as far as Saturday against the Diamondbacks while still keeping the other starters on full rest.

Sánchez will throw a bullpen session Sunday, after which the Phillies will have more clarity on when he’ll make his next start.

“He says he feels normal, so that’s a good sign,” Thomson said. “Hopefully we dodged a bullet here.”

Sánchez, 28, has emerged as the Phillies’ second-best starter behind Wheeler, building on a breakthrough 2024 season with a 3.42 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 26⅓ innings through five starts. Two starts ago, he fanned a career-high 12 batters against the Giants.

But Sánchez reported tightness in his forearm, part of what president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski characterized from details in the trainer’s report as general overall achiness.

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The Phillies didn’t find structural damage to Sánchez’s arm, and based on his symptoms, deemed an MRI or other imaging to be unnecessary.

As long as Sánchez is able to pitch next week, Ranger Suárez likely will pitch once more in the minors after his scheduled 80-pitch start Sunday in triple A. Suárez, sidelined in spring training by a stiff lower back, threw 59 pitches in his most recent start for Lehigh Valley.

After playing five innings in center field Thursday night for triple-A Lehigh Valley, Brandon Marsh was scheduled to continue testing his strained right hamstring with seven innings Friday. He will be the designated hitter Saturday before likely rejoining the Phillies next week.

Marsh was hitless in 31 at-bats before tweaking his hamstring while retrieving a ball that took a bad hop.

“You could see the sawdust coming out of his hands when he was at the plate,” Thomson said. “He was trying to do too much. It’s a process. It takes time.”

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The Phillies believe reliever Orion Kerkering’s struggles are tied to poor location with his signature sweeper, which he relies on for swings and misses. “It’s not really about the shape or the velocity,” Thomson said. “It’s more about the execution of the pitch and command of the pitch. You get away with [mislocating] certain pitches, and right now, he’s not getting away with it.” Kerkering allowed five runs on five hits and three walks in his last two appearances. ... Pitching prospect Mick Abel allowed one run in seven innings Wednesday night in triple A. He has a 3.18 ERA, 30 strikeouts, and 11 walks in 28⅓ innings through five starts. ... Jesús Luzardo (2-0, 2.08 ERA) is scheduled to start at 4:05 p.m. Saturday against Cubs righty Ben Brown (2-1, 4.57). The Phillies drafted Brown in the 33rd round in 2017 and traded him to the Cubs at the deadline in 2022 for reliever David Robertson.