Walker Buehler took the bump for the Padres on Wednesday, facing off against his former team and the dominant Christopher Sanchez.

Buehler settled in a bit in May but has struggled on the road all year. Sanchez brought his 44 ⅔ consecutive innings scoreless streak into the game, setting the record for the longest streak by a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball history. His last start was also against the Padres last week in Petco, where he pitched seven shutout innings.

Wednesday was a true pitchers’ duel in Philadelphia

The Padres earned just two hits through the first five innings. Manny Machado had a groundball single in the fourth, but was followed by a strikeout and a flyout to end the inning. Ty France knocked a single up the middle to start the fifth, but the Padres once again failed to do anything with it. For what it is worth, Miguel Andujar just missed a home run in the fourth before Machado’s single, hitting a 99 mph, 372-foot fly ball to the left-center gap. Unfortunately, being close still does not count, and the Padres’ offense continues to be flustered by any pitcher they see. 

Walker Buehler did his best to keep San Diego in the game. His velocity was up a tick across the board compared to his season average and last start, a good sign of things to come as we enter the summer months. Buehler ran into some trouble with two outs in the first, walking Bryce Harper and giving up a single to Brandon Marsh, but was able to escape any damage from Alec Bohm. 

He kept the ball on the ground from there until the fifth, when Bryson Stott opened up the inning with a hard-hit double on a sinker left over the middle. At 111.9 mph was the hardest hit ball of Stott’s career. After a J.T. Realmuto flyout, Adolis García smoked a double over Jackson Merrill’s head for an RBI double to take a 1-0 lead. That would be the only run for the first two-thirds of the game, as Buehler earned two strikeouts to get out of the inning. Buehler would finish the game with six innings, six strikeouts, while allowing just six baserunners, bringing his season ERA down to 4.53. 

The first quality start from a #Padres starter in more than a week comes from Walker Buehler, who topped out at 97 mph on his fastball against his former team, the Phillies. No decision as he faces Sanchez today

Final line:
6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 6 strikeouts

Season ERA down to 4.53 pic.twitter.com/wLWsnbxI4k

— Carlos (@LFGPads19) June 4, 2026

Sanchez’s historic streak comes to a close

With two outs in the seventh, the Padres finally got to Christopher Sanchez. Ty France, still the last player to get on base, laced a double to left. Jackson Merrill followed with a single up the middle on the second pitch, scoring France from second and officially ending Sanchez’s streak at 50 ⅓ innings. It officially stands as the fifth-longest streak in MLB history, and the longest by a left-hander. It took them almost two full games, but the Padres finally got to him. 

Cristopher Sánchez gets a Standing Ovation for giving up a run. ???

After 50.2 scoreless innings. ? pic.twitter.com/QpMHevM3S1

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 4, 2026

The Phillies quickly respond

Jason Adam came out to keep the game tied at 1-1 in the seventh, but he failed to do his job. J.T. Realmuto worked a six-pitch at bat to start the inning and turned on a high fastball, sending it deep into the left-center stands to take a 2-1 lead. After striking out Adolis García and Justin Crawford, Kyle Schwarber got to Adam again, taking him deep to right-center. Trea Turner reached on an infield single, prompting Manager Craig Stammen to turn to Wandy Peralta to get the left-handed Bryce Harper out. Peralta battled for the groundout, but the Phillies would take the field again with a 3-1 lead. 

Kyle Schwarber adds on with his 23rd homer of the season! pic.twitter.com/hXoM3r7h8r

— MLB (@MLB) June 4, 2026

The Padres threatened in the eighth as Brad Keller took the mound for the Phillies. Samad Taylor, after replacing Nick Castellanos on the roster earlier today,  made his Padres debut by pinch-hitting for Rodolfo Duran. Trea Turner made a nice bare-handed grab at short to just throw him out. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Miguel Andujar both earned their first hits of the day to the opposite field, bringing up Manny Machado with runners at the corners and one out. 

Machado worked a long at bat, but could not do damage on multiple pitches down the middle, and ultimately struck out. Gavin Sheets worked an easy four-pitch walk. Xander Bogaerts came up with bases loaded and two outs, and Keller hit him in the elbow to bring in a run. The main contributor on the day had been Ty France, but he could not come up when it mattered most. He hit the first pitch on the ground to second for an easy out, and Brad Keller and the Phillies escaped the inning, holding the score to 3-2. 

Jhoan Duran closes the door

The Phillies’ closer has been dominant this season, and tonight was no different. Although Wandy Peralta kept the game close in the eighth, the Padres’ offense once again just could not do enough to win this game.

The Phillies have a chance to overtake the Padres in the National League wild card standings on Thursday, being just half a game back now. The game will be at 10:05 AM PDT, as Lucas Giolito looks to end the Padres four game skid against Zack Wheeler and the cruising Phillies.

Jacob Larose

Jacob grew up with Padres season tickets and walls plastered with Khalil Greene memorabilia. He has dedicated all of his young professional career towards becoming baseball’s next AJ Preller, having already worked with minor league and college teams in different roles. He is always scouring the Baseball Savant page to find the next little nugget that might help his hometown Padres (or his fantasy baseball team).