Cristopher Sánchez strikes out Shohei Ohtani 3 times in NLDS Game 1

PHILADELPHIA -- The crowd at Citizens Bank Park rose as one to salute Cristopher Sánchez with a raucous standing ovation.

He responded by waving to the fans along the first-base line, then turned to do the same to those in right field and, lastly, left field.

But this wasn't as Sánchez walked off the field after throwing 5 2/3 solid innings against the Dodgers in the Phillies' 5-3 loss in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday night. Instead, that was the scene as Sánchez emerged from the first-base dugout to make the long walk out to the bullpen in center field to begin his warmups -- a full 39 minutes before first pitch.

“What’s really cool is when I sit here [in my office] and watch the overhead [camera] prior to the game,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “W