Charlie Morton pitched six innings of one-run ball in his Detroit Tigers debut, but offense had no answer for Cristopher Sanchez and Phillies defense.
PHILADELPHIA — Cristopher Sánchez, the Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher, befuddled the Detroit Tigers with a nasty changeup, pounding the strike zone and producing a whole bunch of ugly swings Sunday, Aug. 3 at Citizens Bank Park.
“He’s a really good pitcher,” Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal told ESPN from the dugout during the fourth inning on "Sunday Night Baseball." “That changeup sure is special. We have taken some ugly swings at it.”
Ugly is putting it nicely.
Sanchez, a standout 28-year-old lefty, was able to keep his pitch count low, getting through the eighth inning with a shutout by holding the Tigers to five hits on 84 pitches.
And that was the only thing that overshadowed the Tigers' debut of Charlie Morton, acquired from Baltimore at last week's MLB trade deadline. Morton was fantastic, throwing six innings, giving up just one run, while recording six strikeouts with a walk.
“He can help us win,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told ESPN.
But not on this night.
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Kyle Schwarber hit a solo homer in the eighth inning, his 38th home run of the year, off lefty reliever Tyler Holton to give the Phillies an insurance run in a 2-0 win.
Phillies new fireball closer Jhoan Duran, acquired from Minnesota at the deadline, pitched the ninth, shutting down the Tigers (65-48) in order and giving the Phillies (63-48) the series victory.
The Tigers come for a three-game series with the Twins starting Monday night.
Here's what stood out from Sunday's nationally televised matchup:
Charlie Morton is Mr. 400
It was Morton’s 400th career start. Wanna put that into perspective? Morton became only the fourth active pitcher to reach 400, joining Justin Verlander (544 starts), Max Scherzer (464) and Clayton Kershaw (442).
Yes, those are huge names headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
“The longevity is remarkable,” Hinch said before the game. “When your name's in the same category as those guys, it's pretty remarkable.”
Morton got into trouble in the second, after a Nick Castellanos single and Brandon Marsh double with no outs. But Morton didn’t freak out. He looked calm. And he was able to hold it to just one run thanks to Riley Greene.
Second baseman Bryson Stott crushed a ball in the gap — right between Greene in left and Matt Vierling, who was playing center. Greene dove just in front of the warning track, extending his right glove arm and snagged the ball, just as Vierling slid too. Vierling slammed into Greene near his right shoulder, but neither player was bothered by the collision as they rolled and smiled and Greene had the ball — a fantastic catch that ended the inning and saved a run.
RILEY GREENE NO WAY!!! pic.twitter.com/uQqYlvkxTo
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 3, 2025
“It was good that he controlled the damage,” Hinch said in-game to ESPN. “It feels like a win there.”
Morton showed a nasty curve, striking out Trea Turner, who stood there looking. And he displayed agility — despite those 41-year-old legs — getting over and covering first base to finish a double play to end the third inning.
“The curveball is still there,” Hinch told ESPN. “It’s really good."
Morton pitched brilliantly into the sixth. Then, Schwarber doubled and Hinch intentionally walked Bryce Harper to get to J.T. Realmuto. Hinch was showing absolute trust in Morton.
Morton got Realmuto to get out on a fielder’s choice, and Castellanos fouled out when right fielder Wenceel Perez dived into the wall to snag the out and end the threat.
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Wasting threats
The Tigers had another threat in the fourth inning, putting two on with no outs. But Spencer Torkelson struck out and Greene bounced into a double play.
“They have gotten better as the game has gone on,” Hinch said of the Tigers' at bats. “We haven’t gotten a lot of looks at him. He is hard to stay in the strike zone.”
In the seventh inning, the Tigers had guys on second and third with one out, trailing 1-0. Andy Ibáñez grounded to third and Jahmai Jones was thrown out at home on a nice play from Edmundo Sosa to Realmuto. After a Dillon Dingler walk, Perez hit a ball to shortstop to end the threat.
Riley Greene's amazing defense
Greene's defense was fantastic in this series. He made a sliding catch in foul territory in Saturday's game, and followed that up with two incredible plays in left field Sunday.
He made a diving catch in the seventh inning, helping out Holton by laying out to rob Sosa on a line drive toward the gap to end the frame.
Riley Greene is putting on a show in the outfield tonight! pic.twitter.com/ubhB5MXJQd
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 4, 2025
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Contact Jeff Seidel: [email protected]. Follow him on X @seideljeff.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers game: Blanked by Phillies but Charlie Morton dominates debut
Category: Baseball
