Aaron Sanchez made the kind of history you don’t want to make. Sanchez lost his 10th straight start, becoming the sixth player in 110 years to lose 10 straight games. The last player to do it was Kevin Slowey, who did it over the span of three seasons from 2011 to 2013, so Sanchez accomplishing the ignominious feat in less than two months is a rather dubious distinction.
#RedSox hang on to edge #BlueJays 5-4, making Aaron Sanchez the 6th player since 1908 to drop at least 10 consecutive appearances in a season while being the starting pitcher in each of the losses. He is now 3-14 this year. #MLB https://t.co/Bq9gKJw6qF pic.twitter.com/MwZ7Eihk5Q
— SportsCentre (@SportsCentre) July 18, 2019
As you would expect, Sanchez’s numbers are pretty bad, though not as bad as you might think for a player with this kind of record. He has a 6.26 ERA on the season, and his K/9 numbers are above the league average. However, he has obviously had some major control issues. Sanchez leads the league in walks with 59 walks in 102 innings of work, and that number is close to his season-high.
In 2016, Aaron Sanchez became the first #BlueJays pitcher to win 10 consecutive decisions since Halladay in '03. Tonight Sanchez became the first pitcher in franchise history to lose 10 straight starts. He's also first to lose 13 straight decisions in one year since Romero in '12
— Gregor Chisholm (@GregorChisholm) July 18, 2019
Toronto has been hopeful that Sanchez would be able to work through his issues. Just three years ago, Sanchez was an All-Star and finished the year 15-2 with a 3.00 ERA. He became the first pitcher to record 10 straight wins for the Blue Jays since the late Roy Halladay accomplished the feat, but he has had some major problems since that fabulous season.
His numbers have gotten progressively worse in each of the last three seasons, as his command has slipped away from him. He has averaged five walks or more per nine innings in each of the last three seasons, but there is no sign the Blue Jays are going to send him down to the minors or the bullpen anytime soon.
Toronto designated Edwin Jackson for assignment two days ago rather than send Sanchez down, and that’s a pretty clear indication of their plans going forward. The Blue Jays aren’t in the playoff hunt, and they don’t have a lot of good young arms in the minor leagues, so Sanchez will have to figure it out. He still has good stuff when he is on, as seen by this great changeup below.
Aaron Sanchez, Filthy 88mph Changeup….and body bag Sword. ⚔️⚰️
h/t @elederer18Excellent comic timing by Lance Barrett with the strike call. 😂 pic.twitter.com/xNSPFgHy3j
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 18, 2019
H/T Yahoo Canada
