Luis Robert Jr., White Sox get after Cristopher Sánchez in Phillies’ series-opening loss

CHICAGO — As the hours continued to tick down toward Thursday’s MLB trade deadline, the Phillies got an up-close look at one of the names floating around the market.

With the Phillies’ front office looking on at Rate Field, center fielder Luis Robert Jr. delivered a two-run home run to help push the White Sox past the Phillies, 6-2. Robert also made a diving grab in the outfield to rob J.T. Realmuto of a base hit.

“He’s a strong guy that can really run,” said manager Rob Thomson.

Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez, coming off a complete game against the Red Sox on July 22, wasn’t sharp early on. His changeup, usually his most effective weapon, induced less swing-and-miss than usual. Robert’s homer in the fourth inning came off a changeup from Sánchez that didn’t have its normal action.

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“In that particular count, it stayed a little more in the zone, and he got me there,” Sánchez said through a team interpreter.

Sánchez also allowed some uncharacteristic hard contact from the left side of the plate. Colson Montgomery’s third-inning home run, also a two-run shot, was the first Sánchez has allowed against a left-handed hitter all season.

Sánchez said he felt no ill effects from the complete game in his last start. But the Phillies had a long travel day on Sunday, after their charter flight was delayed several hours out of New York due to weather. They didn’t reach their hotel in Chicago until the early hours of Monday morning. Sánchez didn’t want to use that or the humidity in Chicago as an excuse, but he conceded he felt “sluggish” early in the game.

“Didn’t know whether it was the travel, or coming off a complete game, the humidity, but the fifth, sixth and seventh, he turned it back on, and he had the finish back to his pitches,” Thomson said.

Montgomery’s homer erased the lead Bryce Harper had given the Phillies in the top of the third. Harper drove in two runs with a hustle double for their only hit with runners in scoring position. All six of the Phillies’ total hits came from their lefties.

“We hit some balls hard,” Thomson said. “I thought Schwarber had good at-bats, Harper, all the lefties, for the most part. [Otto] Kemp hits the ball to the wall. So I thought the bats were OK.”

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Sánchez grinded through 6⅔ innings, avoiding trouble in the seventh after a leadoff walk and a double put two runners in scoring position. After Kemp and Realmuto combined for a big out at the plate, Max Lazar entered the game and ended the inning with a groundout.

The White Sox, who are comfortably in last place in the American League Central, added two runs on Seth Johnson in the eighth on three hits and a walk.

Kemp hit a deep fly ball to left field to lead off the ninth that just stayed in the park for Mike Tauchman to make the catch. Max Kepler and Bryson Stott struck out to end the game.

While the Phillies dropped the series opener in Chicago, the free-agent market nearly took an abrupt shift in Detroit.

Diamondbacks slugger Eugenio Suárez — the top hitter currently on the market — was hit on the hand with a fastball by Tigers pitcher Will Vest. The Phillies had previously talked to Arizona about the infielder. Suárez told reporters in Detroit that his X-rays were negative Monday night, but that he will undergo further testing Tuesday.