Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies

Cristopher Sánchez looked better in a 7-3 win over the Nationals on Thursday at Citizens Bank Park after a subpar July. But he didn’t quite look like the dominant left-hander of the first half, either. In the midst of posting a 6.65 ERA in July, the All-Star starter was also tagged for the loss in the Midsummer Classic at his home ballpark. However, Sánchez turned it around in his last start against the Orioles on Saturday at Camden Yards, where he tossed six scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts. That said, Sánchez couldn’t quite build on that on Thursday against Washington. Back at home, where Sánchez boasted a 9-1 record with a 1.28 ERA in 13 starts this season, he labored through five innings and allowed two runs on six hits with six strikeouts and two walks. For most starters, that’s a good outing. For someone in contention for the National League Cy Young Award for the second straight season, that doesn’t quite reach his standards. “Just seemed like a tick off tonight,” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said, adding that there’s no cause for concern. “We feel good about him. It’s not like we’re worried about him.” Sánchez prevented further damage by getting out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth inning by fanning shortstop CJ Abrams and getting Harry Ford to ground out. After throwing 98 pitches, 56 for strikes, he didn’t come out for the sixth. The five innings matched his second-shortest outing of the season. “He always hangs in there,” Mattingly said. “He just keeps going and keeps pitching.” Uncharacteristically, command has been an issue of late for the 29-year-old Sánchez. The southpaw has combined for 10 walks in his last three starts after walking just 12 in his 14 outings prior to that. The Nationals also made solid contact off of him. Ford’s double and Jacob Young’s RBI single in the second accounted for the Nationals’ first run, and Sánchez also allowed a home run to Andrew Pinckney, the first of his career after debuting as a pinch-runner on Wednesday. Sánchez has allowed just 13 homers in 149 2/3 innings this season.