NewsFirst inning has been Sanchez's nemesis
Florida (86-74) at Philadelphia (92-68), 4:10 p.m. ET
By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com
10/03/09 12:13 AM EST
PHILADELPHIA -- There is something about the first inning that Anibal Sanchez has had trouble figuring out. Upon taking the mound, the Marlins right-hander has dealt with adversity. At Atlanta on Monday in his previous start, Sanchez experienced a first. The Venezuela native walked the first three hitters in the Braves' half of the first inning. Just two of the 14 pitches to those hitters were strikes. "I've never walked three guys in a row -- never," Sanchez said. "I just tried to make an adjustment for the next couple of innings and throw strikes." Sanchez and the Marlins came out on the losing end that day, after he gave up two runs in the first inning. It's a new month, and Sanchez will be making his final start of the season Saturday when the Marlins take on the Phillies at 4:10 p.m. ET in a nationally-televised game on FOX. Broadcasters Tom McCarthy and Mark Grace will call the game that was recently switched from 7:05 p.m. Sanchez will get some national exposure, and he hopes to finish on a high. An objective the 25-year-old has is to get off to a fast start. Sanchez's last perfect first inning came Sept. 6 at Washington. Since then, he's grown frustrated by his lack of command in the opening inning. At Atlanta, even after escaping the first giving up two runs, Sanchez walked a career-high eight over five innings. On Sept. 23 in Miami against the Phillies, Sanchez had an impressive eight-inning performance, but he was upset at himself for walking Jimmy Rollins to open the game. Another rough start came Sept. 17 at Cincinnati. In the first inning, Sanchez allowed three runs, including a homer to Darnell McDonald to open the inning, and he also walked a batter. Sanchez prides himself on command. But injuries the past few seasons have helped cause some inconsistency. "He's had particularly difficult times in the first inning," pitching coach Mark Wiley said. "A majority of his walks [and] a majority of his hits have come in the first inning." Tapes of Sanchez's last outing revealed a change in arm slot, which was a factor in not being where he wanted to be in the strike zone. "When he loses his command, he's real frustrated with himself, because he prides himself on having real good command," Wiley said. "He'd never walked guys like that. "It's a just a matter of him locking in where everything is the same all the time. We've talked about when he goes out there, that he has the balance to be aggressive, that he can make the pitches to get guys out. Sometimes you can go overboard with aggression, and you're kind of scattered. You don't have the same rhythm. There are other times you try to be too precise. There is a balance." Finding that balance has been challenging. One reason is Sanchez simply hasn't had ample game experience since his stellar 2006 rookie season, when he was 10-3 with a 2.83 ERA and tossed a no-hitter. In June 2007, Sanchez had surgery to repair a torn labrum. Twice this year, he was on the disabled list with a right shoulder sprain. "I think the thing for him is he needs to pitch," Wiley said. "He's missed a great amount of time since '06, when he was injured. At least there are times he's showing signs of his old self." Pitching matchupFLA: RHP Anibal Sanchez (3-8, 4.10 ERA)
Control was a big issue in Sanchez's previous start. The right-hander opened the Marlins' road trip Monday at Atlanta, and he issued a career-high eight walks over five innings. Of his 91 pitches, 49 were balls. Twice previously, Sanchez walked as many as seven, but not since 2007. Before to his appearance against the Braves, Sanchez beat the Phillies on Sept. 22 in the second game of a doubleheader. He worked eight scoreless innings that day, allowing two hits. PHI: LHP Cole Hamels (10-10, 4.25 ERA)
In his previous start, against the Astros, Hamels didn't pitch all that poorly despite allowing nine hits and six earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. Hamels gave up a couple of bloopers and the Astros capitalized. He walked three and struck out five and appeared to have some pop on his fastball. Having one more real good start before a trip to the postseason would certainly be a confidence boost for the Most Valuable Player of last year's NLCS and World Series. Tidbits
With his single in the fourth inning Friday, Nick Johnson snapped an 0-for-22 slump dating back to Sept. 16. ... Andrew Miller will be getting some extra work in the offseason pitching in the Arizona Fall League. ... Jorge Cantu had 25 RBIs in September. In August 2005, when he was with Tampa Bay, he drove in 28. ... Ryan Howard hit his 44th homer of the season Friday, and sixth off the Marlins. In his career, Howard has 25 shots against Florida. ... Chris Coghlan's 108 hits are the most since the All-Star break of any National League rookie since Dick Allen of the Phillies had 110 in 1964. Allen won the Rookie of the Year Award that season. Tickets
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• Sunday: Marlins (Josh Johnson, 15-5, 3.08) at Phillies (TBD), 1:35 p.m. ET
Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
