Sánchez fans 9 in 7 innings, becomes 1st starter to reach 10 wins in 8-0 victory over Pirates

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cristopher Sánchez returned to form after a couple of shaky outings, allowing only three hits in seven innings as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-0 on Tuesday night.

Sánchez (10-3) struck out nine and walked only two in becoming the first pitcher this season to reach 10 wins.

Sánchez was supported by rookie Justin Crawford’s two-run single in the second inning, then a three-run seventh inning outburst that included an RBI double by Trea Turner and RBI single by Bryce Harper.

Pittsburgh starter Bubba Chandler (3-8) pitched well into the seventh inning, but couldn’t escape the Philadelphia rally. Early on, he was undone only by No. 9 hitter Crawford.

The Phillies loaded the bases with two outs in the second, and after fouling off several Chandler pitches, Crawford took another late swipe and managed to hit one down the third base line off the end of the bat. It went for a two-run single that was all that Sánchez needed.

Crawford also doubled to lead off the sixth, but Chandler worked his way out of that jam, striking out both Turner and Kyle Schwarber, then retiring Harper on a soft grounder to second.

Crawford wasn’t finished, however, laying down a perfect sacrifice bunt in the seventh to move pinch-runner Derek Hill into scoring position. A Turner double scored Hill for the third run, and a follow-up single by Schwarber ended Chandler’s night. Pirates reliever Isaac Mattson then gave up a single to Harper and fielder’s choice grounder to Brandon Marsh as the Phillies tacked on two more runs.

Crawford padded the lead with an RBI single in the eighth, his third hit of the game, before Turner, celebrating his 33rd birthday, hit a two-run homer to break the game open.

Phillies reliever Jonathan Bowlan pitched out of trouble to quell the Pirates in the eighth, and 34-year-old journeyman Lou Trivino, promoted from Triple-A Lehigh Valley earlier in the day, closed the Pirates out.

The Pirates’ Paul Skenes (6-7, 3.10 ERA) faces off against the Phillies’ Zack Wheeler (8-1, 2.03) on Wednesday.

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Pittsburgh Pirates' Jared Triolo is out at first as Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) tags the base in the seventh inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Nick Gonzales hits a single in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)

Philadelphia Phillies' Trea Turner hits an RBI double in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)

Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm throws to first for the out on Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez throws in the first inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)

Colorado’s Democratic primaries on Tuesday will help answer a question the party has increasingly faced nationally: Are voters gravitating toward a younger, more progressive generation of leaders or sticking with established veterans?

That choice is starkly reflected in the fight to represent the state's 1st Congressional District, where incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette has been in office for as long as her challenger, a 29-year-old democratic socialist named Melat Kiros, has been alive. In a similar faceoff, Sen. John Hickenlooper successfully fended off a primary challenge from self-fashioned “insurgent progressive" state Sen. Julie Gonzales.

And a similar, if smaller, divide separated the two Democrats competing for the U.S. House in the state's lone swing district, a seat that will be one of the keys to controlling the chamber in President Donald Trump's final two years in office.

In the Democratic primary for governor, however, the opposite was the case: Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet struggled to meaningfully distinguish their agendas. Instead, the two Democrats have accused each other of pulling punches against Trump.

Polls closed at 7 p.m.

DeGette comfortably controlled her House seat in Denver for nearly 30 years, then came Kiros.

In a March Democratic assembly, a process to decide which candidates get on the primary ballot, DeGette barely qualified as Kiros, a first-time candidate, blew past her with more than double the votes.

While the assembly process is far from determinative of who will win Tuesday, it was a jolt for the Democratic establishment and DeGette, who's been a progressive lawmaker herself.

Then, in New York last week, two democratic socialists and a progressive beat out establishment-backed candidates — two of whom were incumbents — in Democratic primaries for U.S. House, energizing a movement that's just finding some political purchase.

Similar to the New York races, Kiros had the endorsement of Sen. Bernie Sanders, while DeGette was backed by Colorado’s established Democratic House delegation.

A victory by Kiros in Colorado, while far from guaranteed, would work toward cementing the nascent but clear uprising of democratic socialist candidates, which has filled some Democratic leaders with anxiety.

DeGette argued that experience in Congress is needed right now to combat Trump, while Kiros, a former attorney, accused DeGette of ineffectiveness. Also running was University of Colorado Regent Wanda James, who may split the anti-DeGette vote.

Gonzales, the state senator, tried and failed Tuesday to kick Hickenlooper, the more centrist former governor of Colorado, out of his U.S. Senate seat.

She leaned into the same arguments that others used in challenging establishment incumbents, including that Hickenlooper was an “incrementalist."

Gonzales had said she previously joined the Democratic Socialists of America in 2018, but that her membership has lapsed.

Colorado's 8th Congressional District is relatively new and stretches from the northern suburbs of Denver up through farming country.

Since its creation in 2021, it's swung from Democratic to GOP control and is held now by Republican Rep. Gabe Evans. With Democrats aiming to take back control of the House and obstruct Trump's agenda, the race is closely watched.

Party leaders thought a moderate like state Rep. Shannon Bird was best equipped to challenge Evans, but the district is also heavily Hispanic and poorer than much of the rest of the state.

That's where Bird's Democratic primary opponent state Rep. Manny Rutinel, who is Latino, planted a flag, arguing his personal story and more aggressive economic agenda would be more potent against Evans.

Weiser and Bennet slugged that question out in the governor's race after struggling to show major differences in their political agendas.

Weiser attacked Bennet for voting for Trump nominees and Bennet lambasted Weiser for not joining state lawsuits against the first Trump administration.

“The attorney general says he’s really tough but was completely missing in action in Donald Trump’s first term," Bennet said in a recent debate.

Weiser accused Bennet of a weak response to the president. But he also said Bennet should remain in the Senate instead of running for governor.

“You’ve made some mistakes; you didn’t stand up the way you should. I know you can shape up, use your seniority," Weiser told Bennet during a debate. “With all that experience, to throw it away, would be such a waste for Colorado.”

With Colorado a blue state, Tuesday's Democratic winner will be seen as the favorite to defeat the winner of the GOP primary and take over from term-limited Gov. Jared Polis.

The three main candidates seeking the Republican nomination included state Rep. Scott Bottoms, a further right state lawmaker. State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer was considered the more conventional Republican, while Victor Marx was something of a wild card candidate with an eclectic past.

Adam Ballinger walks a voters ballot to the box in the Democratic primaries at a drop off location near the Denver Museum of Art, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Rebecca Slezak)

People vote in the Democratic primaries at Blair-Caldwell Library, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Rebecca Slezak)