Sanchez Outduels Detroit as Philly's Fourth Inning Buries Tigers

Cristopher Sanchez allowed 10 hits over 7.0 innings and still walked away with the win — that's how dominant Philadelphia's offense was in the fourth. The Phillies scored three runs in a single frame to blow the game open, and Detroit never got close enough to matter.

Philadelphia wasted no time setting the tone. In the third, Turner hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Hill to put the Phillies up 1-0. Then the fourth inning happened, and it was effectively over. Realmuto doubled to left, scoring both Stott and Marsh to push the lead to 3-0, and Hill followed immediately with a single to left that scored Realmuto. Just like that, it was 4-0 Philadelphia before Detroit could blink. The story of the night was how quickly and efficiently the Phillies stacked runs — four scores in two innings, with Realmuto's two-RBI double as the decisive blow.

Detroit tried to claw back. Valencia launched a 386-foot home run to right center in the fifth to make it 4-1, and Vierling — who went a perfect 3-for-3 on the night — scored on a Torkelson groundout in the eighth to cut it to 4-2. But that eighth-inning sequence was the moment Detroit's window slammed shut. When Torkelson grounded into a double play — shortstop to second to first, Vierling scoring but Dingler getting erased — the win probability swung from 36% to 13% for the Tigers. A rally that needed every break it could get instead handed Philadelphia two outs on a single swing. That's a brutal way to watch a comeback die.

Sanchez's line looks messy on paper — 10 hits, 2 earned runs — but he went 7.0 innings, struck out 7, and walked just 1. He appears to have pitched out of trouble repeatedly, which is a skill in itself. On the other side, Casey Mize lasted only 5.2 innings, allowing 3 earned runs on 5 hits before giving way to the bullpen. Drew Anderson and Tyler Holton kept things quiet after Mize departed, but the damage was already done. Bryce Harper went 2-for-4 and Bryson Stott added 2-for-4 with a run scored, giving Philadelphia a balanced, professional offensive effort from top to bottom. Detroit's Matt Vierling was exceptional going 3-for-3, but his team simply couldn't generate enough to overcome that fourth-inning avalanche. Philadelphia takes this one, 4-2.