After recording just six outs in his start in Game 6 of the NLCS against the Phillies, Jonathan Sanchez wanted to bounce back in Game 3 of the World Series and show that he has a lot to contribute. But Saturday night, he was not at his best, or even particularly close to it, and while Colby Lewis succeeded, Sanchez struggled to get by.
Jonathan Sanchez Struggles Again In World Series Game 3 Loss
Sanchez’s final line wasn’t terrible - four runs in 4.2 innings isn’t enough to sink a team by itself. It’s just nowhere close to what you’d like to see from a third starter, and the reason for Sanchez’s struggles, once again, was inconsistent command.
Sanchez faced 22 batters before getting pulled, and he managed to throw only 11 first-pitch strikes. Too often, Sanchez was fighting from behind in the count, which put the Rangers hitters in control.
And though it was assumed that Sanchez would have trouble against righties, it was the lefties who actually wound up dealing the biggest blows. After a double and a walk in the second, Sanchez had trouble putting Mitch Moreland away before the left-handed first baseman went down and ripped a three-run homer into the right field seats.
And in the bottom of the fifth, Sanchez fell behind the left-handed Josh Hamilton 2-0 and gave him an inside 2-1 slider that Hamilton blasted into the right field seats for a solo shot that added to the Rangers' lead.
Sanchez has had a good season, but he’s now well beyond the 200-innings mark, and one wonders just how much trust Bruce Bochy would have in him going forward. Worth keeping under consideration is that Sanchez is currently in line to start a potential Game 7. Were he to get that start, it would have the potential to be very, very short.
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