Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez exits start with left forearm tightness

NEW YORK (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez was removed from his start Tuesday night against the New York Mets because of left forearm tightness.

The team said Sánchez will be evaluated further.

“Saw the doc, not expecting any structural damage. But we’ll re-evaluate and know in the next couple days,” manager Rob Thomson said after his team’s 5-1 loss.

Sánchez labored through two innings, throwing 33 of his 58 pitches for strikes, and exited trailing 2-1. The left-hander allowed four hits and two walks while striking out two and throwing a wild pitch.

“Right now I feel normal. I think it’s not going to be a thing I have to worry about,” Sánchez said through a translator. “We did some movement exercises in the training room. The doctor came out and that’s how I feel positive that we’re not going to have to be worrying about this.”

He was replaced by right-hander Joe Ross to begin the third.

“I felt a little uncomfortable today. At first I didn’t think it was forearm. I was feeling a little off from the bullpen, too,” Sánchez explained. “It was the pitches. I noticed the pitches weren’t doing what they’re usually doing. I wasn’t attributing that to my arm, it’s just the pitches weren’t doing what they were supposed to.”

A critical member of Philadelphia’s strong rotation, the 28-year-old Sánchez entered 2-0 with a 2.96 ERA in four outings this season. He struck out a career-high 12 over seven innings in his previous start, a 6-4 win over San Francisco last Thursday.

“He was just a little more erratic than he usually is. His fastball command wasn’t very good at all. His pitches weren’t doing what they normally do. Honestly, I thought it was a finger issue that he kind of ran into last outing, so I wasn’t too concerned about it,” catcher J.T. Realmuto said.

“After talking to him after the game, I’m not as concerned as I was when he came out. That’s obviously a really scary spot on a pitcher, but he seems to be doing all right and structurally seems to be in good shape.”

Sánchez is signed to a $22.5 million, four-year contract through 2028 that includes club options for 2029 and 2030. He was an All-Star last season, when he finished 11-9 with a 3.32 ERA in 31 starts covering 181 2/3 innings. He had never before reached 100 innings in a major league season.

“He’s one of the best pitchers in the National League. Other people would have to pick it up. But I’m not anticipating that yet,” Thomson said.

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AP freelance writer Jerry Beach contributed to this report.

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