WASHINGTON -- Aníbal Sánchez changed his uniform number back to 19 -- the digits he has worn for the majority of his 16-year career -- and then he turned back the clock.

S¨¢nchez, 38, tossed seven frames, his longest outing since Aug. 23, 2020, on Wednesday in the Nationals' 5-1 victory over the A¡¯s?at Nats Park. He allowed three hits, three walks, one run on a home run and recorded four strikeouts to earn his first win of the season (1-5).

"I know at the beginning of this season that looked like it was impossible,¡± S¨¢nchez said. ¡°Today, I felt really good. Something I did was try to throw more strikes than normal to get quick outs. The other thing was, I don't think I've ever faced so many righties in one lineup [eight of nine starters]. I tried to not make a mistake. I tried to execute to get everyone to make quick outs."

Entering the game, S¨¢nchez¡¯s longest outing of the season was 5 2/3 innings, across eight starts. Manager Dave Martinez had reiterated S¨¢nchez had more to show, citing his work ethic and drive to succeed after sitting out last year and earning his way into the starting rotation on a Minor League deal.

¡°He¡¯s a guy that¡¯s been around, that¡¯s pitched in a lot of playoff games, World Series games, and he¡¯s done well,¡± Martinez said. ¡°I knew he still had it in him; I saw him this winter throwing. He¡¯s passionate about coming back, and his heart was in it.¡±

S¨¢nchez¡¯s late-season surge comes after missing the first 90 games of 2022 with a cervical nerve impingement. But with a lengthy career that includes a no-hitter, an ERA title, a 113-118 record and a 4.07 ERA, his resume speaks for itself.

¡°He¡¯s a crafty right-hander that¡¯s been around forever,¡± said A¡¯s manager Mark Kotsay. ¡°He didn¡¯t throw much in the middle and used his pitches. That¡¯s what veterans do. He had a younger lineup in there that he took advantage of a little bit. We didn¡¯t really swing the bats very well until the ninth inning.¡±

S¨¢nchez is setting a proven example on a team developing its core for the future. His performance on Wednesday offered learning lessons for starters like Cade Cavalli, Josiah Gray and MacKenzie Gore.

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¡°It¡¯s honestly pretty impressive,¡± said veteran Luke Voit. ¡°For him to go out there and just attack guys, he¡¯s a tough guy. He¡¯s got five pitches, you can¡¯t really sit on anything. ¡­ Hopefully, these young guys were watching that even in tough times [in games], you can always get out of it.¡±

For all the numbers that illustrate S¨¢nchez¡¯s success against Oakland, there is something to be said for the role his uniform number had, too.

¡°It¡¯s giving me a little extra energy today,¡± he said with a smile.

S¨¢nchez entered the league donning No. 36 on the Marlins from 2006-08. He switched to No. 19 in ¡®09 and he wore it for 11 seasons, including ¡®19-20 with the Nationals. When S¨¢nchez re-signed with Washington in March, Josh Bell already was wearing No. 19. S¨¢nchez picked No. 27, and after Bell was traded to the Padres on Aug. 2, he was presented with the opportunity to reunite with the familiar jersey.

¡°This is the number that I¡¯ve been my whole career,¡± S¨¢nchez said. ¡°Being together, I think we¡¯ve got a really good match.¡±