![MLB: Miami Marlins at Philadelphia Phillies](https://www.phillysports.today/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/usa_today_23643416.0.jpg)
This was going to be obvious until it wasn’t.
There was a tie for this award last week between Bryce Harper and this week’s winner. This week was likely going to be about Harper, as he has a ridiculous 1.404 OPS across his last 7 games before Thursday’s nightmarish loss to the Marlins. That game ended with the Phillies blowing a late lead and their star player limping off the field only to end up on the 10 day injured list.
That injury cast a pall over the entire last week of games. But, this week’s winner shined in the first game after that loss, delivering when the team needed it most. This time we’ll let him have the spotlight all to himself.
Cristopher Sanchez: 1 GS, 0.00 ERA, 3 H, 9 K
Cristopher Sánchez was brilliant (CG, 9IP 3H 0R 0BB 9K) for the @Phillies last night. His changeup, thrown 45 times, averaged nearly 20″ of horizontal break and won our Starting Pitcher Pitch of the Day for June 28th. pic.twitter.com/e8P09cGMeA
— Baseball Prospectus (@baseballpro) June 29, 2024
The Phillies entered this start fresh off that devastating loss to the Marlins. Two of their best hitters went on the IL hours before the game, shortening their lineup that was already missing J.T. Realmuto. There are no “must-win” games in June, but this one felt like a real gut check for the Phillies.
And Sanchez delivered the best start of his young career. He threw a complete game shutout that allowed the depleted offense to scratch across two runs and collect the much needed victory. He was masterful in this game, as only one Marlins runner reached second base and it was on a groundout in the 8th inning.
That performance, this reaction pic.twitter.com/Pp6DvJJmdV
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 29, 2024
It was a cap to an incredible month of June for the lefty, as he finished the month 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA and a WHIP of 0.82 across five starts. Sanchez now leads the National League in fWAR (3.0) and FIP (2.38) for the season and is second behind Ranger Suarez for the best ERA (2.41) in the NL. There is a strong argument to be made that Sanchez should be in Texas for the All-Star game.
Honorable mentions
Trea Turner: 33 PAs, 5 R, 2 RBI, .300/.364/.433, 128 wRC+
It feels as though Turner’s strong season has been lost in the shuffle. It’s understandable, as he did miss a month with a hamstring injury. But in the time he’s played since the start of the season, he’s been much more of the Trea Turner we expected when he signed his mega deal last offseason. The stolen base numbers aren’t there yet and that can be partially attributed to the hamstring, but Turner has been a consistent hitter with a .332 AVG across 45 games played. In 12 games since returning from his injury, Turner is hitting .302/.351/.434. The Phillies will need him to be the star that he is to survive their current rash of injuries, and he was just that when he delivered a go-ahead two run single in the seventh on Sunday.
Brandon Marsh: 23 PAs, 1 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, .350/.435/.600, 191 wRC+
Marsh has had his struggles against left handed pitching this season, but he has continued to mash righties at a strong clip. He collected a four hit game on Wednesday in Detroit and was responsible for driving in four of the Phillies’ six runs that day. It was the first time in his career he notched at least 4 hits and 4 RBIs in a game and his first four hit game in general since April of last season.