Cristopher Sanchez threw eight shutout innings Friday night. Jhoan Duran threw exactly one pitch in the ninth.

“I feel really bad right now. Because I want to do the best I can for [Sánchez] to win after a game like that, and I did not do it,” said closer Jhoan Duran, according to the Inquirer, after blowing the game for the Phillies in the 9th inning and losing the game 1-0.

The Phillies brought in their $7.5 million closer to protect a scoreless tie in the top of the ninth. Duran threw a 97-mph splitter to pinch-hitter Kyle Manzardo, who immediately crushed it over the left-field wall. That one hit ruined a historic night for Sanchez. It also handed the Phillies their second straight loss.

Sanchez gave one of the finest outings anybody has seen this season by a pitcher. The Phillies left-hander threw 8 shutout innings while allowing 4 hits and striking out 6 batters. After this game, his scoreless streak now sits at 37 2/3 innings, second only behind Grover Cleveland Alexander’s 1911 franchise record.

“I don’t know if I’ve seen anything quite like it. Pretty amazing every time out,” interim manager Don Mattingly said while praising Sanchez.

With another dominant start from Cristopher Sanchez, the Phillies looked set to win, but both the offense and the bullpen fell short of the win. The Phillies looked ready for a Friday night classic against the Guardians, and that is exactly how the game went. Both teams brought their A-Game while pitching. After eight innings, Cristopher Sanchez and Gavin Williams both hadn’t given up a single run and had a historic night.

Together, the two starters made MLB history. As OptaSTATS highlighted after the game, this was the first time since pitch-tracking began in 1988 that opposing starters both pitched at least 8.0 innings, allowed zero runs, struck out 6+ batters, and threw under 100 pitches in the same game.

But things changed for the Phillies in the 9th inning when the Phillies brought in Jhoan Duran. The first pitch that Kyle Manzardo saw from Duran went deep, and that was enough for the Guardians to win the game.

“I felt like he attacked us. He forced us to swing. Stuff’s good. The breaking ball was good tonight,” said Mattingly while praising Williams.

But Philadelphia’s bullpen was not the only responsible party because the offense completely disappeared. The Phillies managed only four hits in the entire game and got shut out. Meanwhile, Kyle Schwarber struck out four times, Trea Turner and Alec Bohm went hitless. Cade Smith needed only eight pitches in the 9th inning to get Cleveland the win over the Phillies.

After having a horrible start to 2026, the Philadelphia Phillies looked like they were getting back on track. With a 6-4 record in the last 10 games, the fans can see the team improving, but when the team loses in that fashion to the Guardians, the fans question whether the team is really improving.

Now, the bullpen is suddenly costing them games. Just two days before Duran’s Friday night failure, the relievers blew it against the Cincinnati Reds. In the 9-4 loss, when Nola was taken off the mound after the fifth inning, the Phillies were just a run behind the Reds. But the bullpen came in and earned 5 runs.

This not only lost them the game, but the Phillies also lost the series.

But could the Phillies be getting a massive pitching boost by the trade deadline?

The Phillies are reported to be in the race for Tarik Skubal

Even after Friday’s loss, the Philadelphia Phillies are still in the race for a playoff spot. Just weeks ago, the Phillies were sitting nine games below .500 after the team decided to hit the lowest of the lows.

But since Don Mattingly took over duties, Philadelphia has gone 16-8. This stretch has slowly given hope to fans. And now, one possible trade rumor is making Phillies fans dream about another October run.

MLB insider Robert Murray connected Philadelphia to Detroit ace Tarik Skubal. Murray specifically mentioned Dave Dombrowski because the Phillies president historically chases frontline pitching during the trade window, and there is no one bigger than Skubal right now.

Back in 2014, Dombrowski aggressively went for David Price while leading Detroit’s postseason push. In 2026, Skubal had a strong strikeout number (45 strikeouts) before suffering an elbow injury.

If the Phillies do manage to get him, they could have one of MLB’s deadliest rotations.

A potential Phillies rotation featuring Skubal, Cristopher Sanchez, Zack Wheeler, Jesus Luzardo, and Aaron Nola feels unrealistically stacked. Although the Phillies are not at their best right now, they have shown that postseason is a different story, and with Skubal, they could finally win the crown.

The proposed trade shows top prospects Aidan Miller alongside Gage Wood and Gabriel Rincones Jr for Skubal. The package sounds massive for a starter, but a pitcher like Skubal is rarely available.

But this all makes sense only if the Phillies are trying to go out and win it. If the Phillies are looking at just making the postseason, then it won’t make any sense for them to go out and spend so much on Tarik Skubal. And with aging stars like Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Trea Turner, the window of a championship for the Phillies will not be open for a long time.