NL WILDCARD GAME: PHILLIES VS BRAVES

September 29, 2026

Cristopher Sanchez

Truist Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Pregame Press Conference

Q. How difficult is it when there's all this adrenaline to not play in that first game and have to wait until Game 2?

CRISTOPHER SANCHEZ: It's not that difficult when you think about it. It's just about remaining calm and remaining focused when you're about to hit the field. It's just about keeping focus on what we do on the field.

It doesn't matter if it's Game 1 or 2, just keep focused on what we have to do and follow the game plan. It's not that difficult at all. It's just a matter of being able to wait it out.

Q. Obviously you've talked a lot about how much you love pitching at home. You had a really good start at Dodger Stadium in the playoffs last year. How do you feel about pitching here and about pitching on the road?

CRISTOPHER SANCHEZ: I mean, I just try to be my best self every time I'm out there on the mound and just try to go out there and compete every time that I can. Again, as I said, it's a short series, so it's just about going out there and getting as many 0s on the board as we can. On my end, it's just about being able to put the team in a good position to win, just trying to do that.

Q. You were sitting in the bullpen on Sunday. Don said yesterday that you wanted to be there. Why was it important for you to be with your teammates? If you needed to pitch, how much could you realistically have done?

CRISTOPHER SANCHEZ: I let him know early on -- I felt great during catch play, so I let him know early on that I was ready to go out there for an inning if they needed me. It's just an important game, so I was just ready to go in case they needed me. But I did let him know early on that I felt great and ready to go.

Q. Curious, watching Jesús kind of come back from this shoulder injury, what gave you the confidence Sunday that he was going to come out and throw well, and what are your expectations for him today making a start for the first time in like three weeks?

CRISTOPHER SANCHEZ: I'm always out there with my teammates in the clubhouse. I'm always close to what they do and try to pay attention to what they do and how they're doing, how they prepare themselves. He prepared himself in the best way possible while he was out and he never let go. He was just ready, focused, and prepared for him to come back in the healthiest way possible for him.

It's not a coincidence that he had a great outing at home on Sunday. It was a good inning, he pitched a good inning, and that's what I'm expecting from him today to have a good outing, a good start. And he's going to be able to give us the win tonight. That's what I expect out of him.

Q. What's it been like watching Luzardo this entire season, and as two lefties, how much do you guys push each other?

CRISTOPHER SANCHEZ: We help each other out a lot. I learn a lot from him, and I'm pretty sure that he learns a lot from me too. We talk a lot. We have a lot of conversations too. He's a great pitcher, and the year he had, I think he deserves it. He works for it, and I'm just happy for him, and I think he deserves all the good things that happened to him this year.

Q. Regarding the Dominican Republic's fan base paying a lot of attention recently to your outings throughout the year, they've been talking a lot about it's going to be a must-watch game on Tuesday.

CRISTOPHER SANCHEZ: It's motivation for me, and I feel chills and goosebumps every time I think about the attention and all the love and faith I receive from my fan base in the Dominican Republic. I feel like I'm always with my fan base because of the love and support that they've shown.

That's the praise I try to give back every time I'm on the mound and on the field, just trying to share some of the love back to my fan base and my fans, especially those in the Dominican Republic who are supporting every fifth day and that have shown all that excitement throughout the year.

Q. Regarding your previous playoff experience, your growth and development as a pitcher and facing the Braves in previous years, how that has helped you prepare for this moment?

CRISTOPHER SANCHEZ: It's about maturity. That comes with years of experience and every process that I've been through as a ballplayer. Life prepares you to be in this position as well. It's just about learning how to prepare yourself every outing and every day. And it's also how to handle this type of situation, how to handle the pressure, how to handle when the fan base is acting up and how to handle those kind of scenarios out there on the mound.

Q. Talk a little bit about how heavy Luis Arraez' absence is going to be in the roster. Do you have any comment about him losing the batting title in the last days?

CRISTOPHER SANCHEZ: He's one of the best Latino hitters right now in sports. Right now he's kind of day-to-day. I hope he feels better. Any day that he feels better it's a good, positive outcome for us. It would have been historic for him to get the batting title, just a historic season for him. Even though he was very close to getting that, he couldn't get it done this year.

But the best thing about him is the vibes that he brings to the clubhouse and his energy. He's just a great guy to have around as a person and as a ballplayer.