The Milwaukee Brewers had no shortage of reasons to be frustrated Tuesday night at Petco Park, where the San Diego Padres rolled to an 11-2 win. But the strangest moment of the game came long after the result was settled, when Gary Sanchez walked to the mound in the eighth inning for just the second pitching appearance of his 12-year major league career.
Milwaukee came in with an MLB-best 74 wins, yet the game got out of hand quickly and forced Pat Murphy into preservation mode. Rather than burn through another reliever with the Brewers trailing by nine, the manager turned to a position player to finish things off.
Sanchez handled the inning cleanly. He gave up two hits, didn’t issue a walk and got through the frame on 19 pitches, giving the Brewers a rare bright spot in a lopsided defeat.
For Sanchez, a 33-year-old catcher, it was a true one-off kind of night. His only previous major league pitching appearance came on April 20, 2025, when he worked the ninth inning for the Baltimore Orioles in a 24-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. That outing was rougher: four earned runs, two hits, one walk and a three-run homer allowed.
This time, the scoreboard stayed quiet while Sanchez was on the mound. He reached 87.7 mph with his pitches, kept San Diego off the board and even asked Brice Turang for the baseball after recording the final out, turning the moment into a keepsake.
MLB.com's Adam McCalvy noted the scene on X, formerly Twitter, with this line:
“Gary Sánchez is on the mound for the second pitching appearance of his 12-year Major League career. Let’s get weird.”
The Brewers didn’t get much out of the night overall, but Sanchez’s scoreless inning gave them an unusual and memorable final image from an otherwise rough loss.
Gary Sánchez is on the mound for the second pitching appearance of his 12-year Major League career. Let's get weird.
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) August 12, 2026
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