CHICAGO -- Phillies manager Rob Thomson had something important to tell his team on Tuesday, so he gathered everybody together in the visitors¡¯ clubhouse at Wrigley Field.

He first told them that Bryce Harper earned National League Player of the Month honors for a second consecutive month, which got Harper a nice ovation from his teammates. Thomson then told everybody that Cristopher Sánchez was named the NL Pitcher of the Month for June, making Harper and S¨¢nchez the first pair of Phillies teammates to win Player and Pitcher of the Month Awards in the same month since Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton in May 1980.

¡°The place just erupted,¡± Thomson said.

It has been a remarkable several weeks for S¨¢nchez, even after allowing a career-high seven runs in four-plus innings in Thursday afternoon¡¯s 10-2 loss to the Cubs. S¨¢nchez allowed a combined six earned runs in five starts in June, going 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA, including the first shutout of his career on June 28. He signed a four-year, $22.5 million contract extension on June 22.

He will learn on Sunday if he will make the NL All-Star team. He has a shot.

¡°It would mean a lot,¡± S¨¢nchez said via team interpreter Diego D'Aniello. ¡°As I said in Spring Training, that was a goal that I set for myself. So if it happens, it happens. If it doesn¡¯t, then let¡¯s just go on and win more games.¡±

Thomson thought S¨¢nchez struggled Thursday because he felt the effects after throwing the first complete game of his career in last Friday's shutout against the Marlins. S¨¢nchez¡¯s fastball velocity was down against the Cubs. His changeup wasn¡¯t as effective. He lacked command.

¡°It was not that,¡± S¨¢nchez said. ¡°I just think that I missed some pitches that I shouldn¡¯t have missed.¡±

"He¡¯s been excellent; excellent for them,¡± Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. ¡°We put pressure on him in the second inning, and then we finally cracked through. It looked he was a little off with the breaking ball and struggling to throw it for strikes, and we got ourselves in some good counts."

Even after Thursday¡¯s career-worst start, S¨¢nchez is 6-4 with a 2.96 ERA, which is tied for sixth in the National League behind Ranger Su¨¢rez (2.27), Chris Sale (2.71), Zack Wheeler (2.74), Jake Irvin (2.80) and Max Fried (2.91).

S¨¢nchez¡¯s teammates roared for him Tuesday, not just because NL Pitcher of the Month is a nice accomplishment, but because they love him as a person and recognize and appreciate the journey he took to get to that moment.

¡°My teammates getting excited at such great news is very special to me,¡± he said.

The Phillies acquired S¨¢nchez from Tampa Bay in a Nov. 2019 trade for a then-low-level prospect in Curtis Mead. S¨¢nchez was a hard thrower, but he struggled over 22 big league appearances in 2021-22. His velocity dipped. He couldn¡¯t throw strikes.

Meanwhile, Mead blossomed into a Top 100 prospect.

For a moment, the trade looked lopsided. S¨¢nchez joined the Phillies¡¯ rotation on June 17, 2023, because they had tried everybody else. He posted a 3.32 ERA in 18 appearances (17 starts) last season.

He is now a key piece to Philadelphia's rotation.

¡°They know how far he¡¯s come,¡± Thomson said. ¡°They know the work that he¡¯s put in. They appreciate that.¡±

Thomson was asked if there is something about S¨¢nchez as a person that connects him to his teammates.

¡°Just his humbleness,¡± Thomson said. ¡°An example is the guy at the guard shack at [Citizens Bank Park]. I pull in, I stop, I talk to him. He told me one time, he said, ¡®Cris S¨¢nchez comes in every day, he stops, he says hello and he talks to me.¡¯ That really tells me a lot about him.¡±