CLEARWATER, Fla. – Cristopher Sanchez walked off the mound after recording the final out of the top of the fifth inning. He gave a wave to his family seated behind the backstop and was greeted at the top step of the dugout by a handshake and a hug from manager Rob Thomson. Next stop for the gif ted left-hander: Citizens Bank Park. As expected, Sanchez will be the Phillies’ opening day starter Thursday against the Texas Rangers. Thomson confirmed as much after the 29-year-old Dominican made his final start of the spring Friday afternoon at BayCare Ballpark. The opening day start will be the first of Sanchez’ career. Zack Wheeler started the Phillies’ last two openers, but he’s still working his way back from surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome and is still a month or so away from big-league action. While Wheeler’s absence may have put Sanchez in position to get the opening day start, he is clearly deserving of the nod. He had the best season of his career in 2025, setting personal bests in wins (13), ERA (2.50), innings (202) and strikeouts (212). The Phillies’ starting staff led the majors with 84 quality starts, 12 more than any other team. Sanchez had 22 of them, which tied him for the most in baseball with Logan Webb and Garrett Crochet. Sanchez finished second in National League Cy Young voting to Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes. “He’s earned it,” Thomson said. “He was runner-up for the Cy Young. I’m biased but I would have said he should have won it. It’s an honor. He’s earned it. He’s pretty fired up about it.” Sanchez officially got the news in a meeting with Thomson and pitching coach Caleb Cotham before pitching five innings of one-run ball in a 4-4 tie against Detroit. “It’s a privilege,” Sanchez said. “I love it. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and I’m super excited about it.” Sanchez started Friday against Detroit’s Tarik Skubal, winner of the last two American League Cy Young awards. They were the top two left-handed starters in the game last season, according to WAR calculations by both Baseball-Reference and Fangraphs. Sanchez’ ascension among MLB starters has been inspiring. The Phillies, under former general manager Matt Klentak, picked him up in a minor-league trade with Tampa Bay before the 2020 season. At the time, Klentak credited the team’s pro scouting department for identifying Sanchez as a potential trade target. Sanchez joined the Phillies as a big-armed project. Over time, his strike throwing improved and he developed one of the best changeups in the game. This spring, he worked on improving his slider to the point where it is a real weapon. “I don’t know where his ceiling is,” Thomson said. “From where he’s come from, it could be anywhere. The slider is getting better and he’s using it more. He can backdoor it to right-handers and it’s a swing-and-miss pitch to left-handers. He’s got the unbelievable changeup and command of his fastball. He gets a lot of weak contact. He’s just a complete pitcher right now. “Once he got command of his fastball to go with the changeup, his confidence went through the roof. That’s all it is. He’s been very, very consistent.” In two Grapefruit League starts this spring, Sanchez pitched seven innings. He gave up just one run, walked none and struck out eight. Earlier this spring, he made two starts for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. He struggled in his first outing, giving up six hits and three runs in 1 1/3 inning against Nicaragua, but came back with a vengeance in his second start to deliver five shutout innings with eight strikeouts against Korea. Sanchez loves pitching at Citizens Bank Park. He went 6-0 with a 1.94 ERA in 15 starts at CBP last year and 7-3 with a 2.21 ERA in 17 starts there in 2024. The place will be packed when he takes the mound Thursday. Expectations are high for the Phillies as they look to make the postseason for a fifth straight year and win a World Series for the first time since 2008. As much as he’d like to go a step further and win the Cy Young in 2026, Sanchez wants a World Series championship more. “Above everything else, the city and the fans we have motivate me to give my best,” he said. “I want to give the fanbase what they deserve. That’s highly motivating to me.” In addition to announcing his opening day starter, Thomson set his season-opening rotation. Right-hander Aaron Nola will slot in between Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo, both lefties. Taijuan Walker will pitch fourth and rookie Andrew Painter fifth. Painter has been informed that he has officially made the team, not that there was any mystery there. Wheeler will continue his buildup by pitching in a minor-league game on Monday. The highlight of Friday’s game was the Phillies putting four runs on Skubal in the third inning. Rookie Justin Crawford started it off by stroking a changeup into the right-field corner for a triple. Crawford has long strides and gazelle-like speed. It was fun to watch him run the bases. “It was really cool competing against Skubal and seeing what he looked like,” Crawford said. “It was my first time legging one out. I saw the changeup good and put a decent swing on it. He left the pitch up, thank God.” ...read more read less