KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Trea Turner crossed over second base, took a throw from Bryson Stott, and sidearmed the ball to first.
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Double play, right?
More like double trouble.
Turner uncorked a sinker in the dirt and skipped by diving first baseman Bryce Harper. A run scored. An avalanche followed. Rather than escaping the first inning here Monday, Cristopher Sánchez got blitzed for six runs, the start of a 15-1 Phillies trouncing by the bottom-dwelling Royals.
In his second-to-last start before the All-Star break — with a chance to deliver a series win for the Phillies and a closing argument to be the National League’s starting pitcher next week in his home ballpark — Sánchez endured the worst start of his career.
The ugly numbers:
3⅓ innings, his shortest (noninjury) start since April 23, 2024
nine runs, career-high
12 hits, tied for career-high
three homers, career-high
Sánchez was repeatedly over the middle of the plate with his signature changeup. His sinker lacked its peak zip. Each of the homers — Luke Maile’s three-run shot in the first inning and solos by Salvador Perez and Lane Thomas — came on changeups.
A half-dozen Royals hit against Sánchez were scorched at 100 mph or faster off the bat. Sánchez’s ERA climbed from 2.00, second-best in the NL, to 2.62, seventh in the league.
Turner’s error absolved none of that.
But it did change the game.
Instead of being back in the dugout after a scoreless inning, Sánchez gave up four consecutive hits: RBI singles from Nick Loftin and Starling Marte, an infield single by Tyler Tolbert, and Maile’s homer, which sent center fielder Derek Hill crashing into the wall.
And with that, the rout was on.
Luke Maile rips a 3-run homer and the @Royals have scored 6 in the inning! pic.twitter.com/QbJTdNiftf
— MLB (@MLB) July 6, 2026
Kyle Schwarber got ejected by plate umpire Alan Porter after striking out in the sixth inning. Third-string catcher Garrett Stubbs pitched the eighth — and gave up the last two runs and four hits in the Royals’ 22-hit barrage. Don Mattingly emptied the bench in the middle innings, spring training-style.
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The Phillies dropped the series to the Royals, who have the second-worst record in a bad American League. They’ve lost three of the last four games and five out of nine, with six games left before the All-Star break.
Sánchez will get one more start, Saturday in Detroit, to stake his claim as the first Phillies pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Roy Halladay in 2011. Either way, Sánchez expects to have upward of 20 friends and family in town for the game.
By then, maybe the nightmare of a Monday matinee in Kansas City will be long forgotten.
Dan Baker has been the Phillies’ public-address announcer for 54 seasons, the longest active run and third-longest all-time. And on July 14, he will become the first PA announcer to work three All-Star games. He sat down with “Phillies Extra” to discuss his memories from 1976 and 1996 at Veterans Stadium, his favorite names to announce, and more. Watch here.
You can also subscribe to the podcast version of Phillies Extra on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Previous episodes: Ricky Bottalico | Preston Mattingly | Caleb Cotham | Larry Bowa | Joe Maddon | Rhys Hoskins | Terry Francona | Aaron Rowand | Hunter Pence
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