Sánchez sets Phillies franchise record by extending scoreless innings streak to 44 2/3

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Philadelphia left-hander Cristopher Sánchez extended his scoreless innings streak to 44 2/3 innings on Wednesday to set the Phillies franchise record by passing Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander.

Sánchez reached the milestone by getting through the four full innings he needed to pass Alexander, who had a 41-inning scoreless streak in 1911. He kept going through three more scoreless innings before leaving after throwing 100 pitches. He allowed six hits, struck out nine and walked none.

He left with a 2-0 lead, pumping his fists after striking out pinch-hitter Ty France to end the seventh.

There was a heart-stopping moment, though, as Manny Machado lifted a fly ball to left that Edmundo Sosa caught just in front of the wall leading off the fourth. Sánchez struck out Xander Bogaerts, Ramon Laureano doubled to left and then the lefty got Jackson Merrill to ground out to second base to set the record.

Machado had homered in Tuesday night's 4-3 Phillies win.

The Padres stranded runners in scoring position in the first and second innings, and Gavin Sheets lifted a fly ball just in front of the warning track in right to end the third.

The 29-year-old Sánchez came in with a 5-2 record and 1.62 ERA.

The streak dates back to the second inning of the first game of a doubleheader against San Francisco on April 30.

Sánchez's start Wednesday lined up perfectly against a Padres offense that is struggling. San Diego went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position in a 3-0 loss in the series opener on Monday night and then 0 for 2 in Tuesday night's loss.

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Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sánchez pats his chest at the end of the fourth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sánchez works against a San Diego Padres batter during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sánchez works against a San Diego Padres batter during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sánchez works against a San Diego Padres batter during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sánchez works against a San Diego Padres batter during the second inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

HONOLULU (AP) — A tourist from Washington state pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges accusing him of hurling a coconut-sized rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal and was ordered to stay away from Hawaii beaches.

Igor Lytvynchuk, 38, of Covington, Washington, was in U.S. District Court in Honolulu Wednesday, where he pleaded not guilty to charges of harassing and attempting to harass a protected animal. U.S. Magistrate Judge Rom Trader allowed him to remain free pending the criminal case but ordered him to stay away from beaches and marine wildlife while in Hawaii.

“You're not going to the beach, you understand that,” Trader told Lytvynchuk, who responded that he understood.

Lytvynchuk declined to comment after the hearing.

One of his defense attorneys, Myles Breiner, said previously his client was trying to protect sea turtles and has since been physically assaulted, threatened and doxed.

Earlier this month, a witness recorded what prosecutors say was a video of him throwing the rock at a Hawaiian monk seal at a Maui beach. He later made arrangements to surrender in the Seattle area as special agents with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were seeking to arrest him, prosecutors said.

The video drew widespread condemnation and demands for prosecution in Hawaii, including from Maui’s mayor. Scientists identified the seal as an adult male known as “R404," NOAA said.

According to prosecutors, a state Department of Land and Natural Resources officer investigated a report of Hawaiian monk seal harassment in Lahaina, the community that was largely destroyed by a deadly wildfire in 2023. A witness showed the officer video of the seal swimming in shallow water while a man watched from shore.

The video showed Lytvynchuk throwing the rock, described by a witness as the size of a coconut, directly at the seal, narrowly missing its head, prosecutors said in a criminal complaint.

When a witness confronted Lytvynchuk, he said “he did not care and was ‘rich’ enough to pay any fines,” according to the complaint.

Afterward, a man “brutally assaulted” Lytvynchuk, Breiner said. Lytvynchuk declined to file a police report on the assault, the attorney said.

Breiner explained his client had been to Hawaii previously and was familiar with sea turtles, but not Hawaiian monk seals. Lytvynchuk is a fisherman and thought the seal was an aggressive sea lion, the lawyer said.

“So his response was not to hurt this monk seal, but to get it away from the turtles,” Breiner said.

The incident shows NOAA must do more to educate the public about protecting Hawaiian monk seals, Hawaii's U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Since the video surfaced, Lytvynchuk has faced death threats and doxing, including receiving a package at his home containing what appeared to be feces, Breiner said.

He said his client is being treated unfairly because he is a white outsider. “The vast majority of attacks on monk seal and turtle are by locals," he said.

Lytvynchuk is charged with violations of the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Hawaiian monk seals are a critically endangered species. Only 1,600 remain in the wild.

If convicted, he faces up to one year in prison for each charge. He also faces a fine of up to $50,000 under the Endangered Species Act and a fine of up to $20,000 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

At the hearing, attended by numerous Hawaiian monk seal protection activists, Trader set a scheduling hearing for June 9, but said Lytvynchuk is allowed to participate by phone or video from Washington. Trader ordered him not to travel outside Washington and Hawaii. Lytvynchuk said he surrendered his U.S. passport to authorities.

FILE - Cars pass in front of the federal building housing the U.S. District Court in Honolulu on March 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, File)

This undated drivers license photo provided by the U.S. District Court of Hawaii shows Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, from Washington state, who is accused of throwing a coconut-sized rock at the seal named "Lani." (U.S. District Court of Hawaii via AP)

This 2022 photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a Hawaiian monk seal known as "R404" resting on a beach in Hawaii. (NOAA Fisheries via AP)