Cubs Clobbered, Cris Conquers: Phillies 13, Cubs 7
Lots and lots of runs, most of them for the good guys.
Apr 13, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez (61) throws a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the second inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images “Javier Assad has faced 51 batters without allowing a single barreled ball”. So said the helpful auto-generated commentary in the MLB app’s Gameday feature after Trea Turner grounded out to start the bottom of the first.
The next play read “Kyle Schwarber homers (5) on a fly ball to center field”. Well. Can an AI create a jinx?
If a billy goat can, probably (then again, goats may be stronger than robots, since they eat tin cans). At any rate, the Phillies had a 1-0 lead against the visitors from the Senior Circuit’s Chicago club. It was a battle between sinkerballers: Javier Assad and Cristopher Sánchez.
Both got off to a bit of a rocky start: Assad with his inability to reach 52 batters without a barrel, and Sánchez with his putting two on (via liner hit and walk) to open the second. It got worse for Cris when another single loaded the bases, with just one away. What’s a sinker specialist to do when he gets that sinking feeling?
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