Sánchez and his wife welcomed a baby boy days ahead of the All-Star pitcher’s start in Game 2 of the NL Division Series against New York on Sunday.

Sánchez, 27, earned his first All-Star berth on the strength of his regular-season performance, finishing at 11-9 with a 3.32 ERA and his first career shutout.

The birth of his first son — “BABY CRIS,” he wrote on Instagram — well, that trumped all his professional achievements.

“I think there’s nothing that beats getting home to my kid right now,” Sánchez said Saturday through an interpreter. “I’m just spending time with him, holding him every five minutes. Just all around, being all over him. That’s just something I can’t describe right now.”

Sánchez said his son was born Monday. He captioned a photo of the boy, named Cristopher, with: “Our dream baby is here. Mommy and Daddy love you so much.”

Sánchez got the nod over playoff-tested veteran Aaron Nola for Sunday’s start at Citizens Bank Park on the strength of his road vs. home splits. Sánchez went 7-3 with a 2.21 ERA in 17 starts at home. He went 4-6 with a 5.02 ERA in 14 road starts.

Nola starts Game 3 in New York.

Sánchez started just one game in the 2023 playoffs, throwing 38 pitches over 2⅓ innings in a Game 4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL Championship Series.

His improvement this season was rewarded in June. The Phillies signed Sánchez to a $22.5 million, four-year contract extension through the 2028 season.

“It’s really amazing the steps that he’s taken, the growth that he’s had, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “The slider he’s landing. Gone deep in the games. Held his composure. Has had some innings where he could have fallen apart, which he’s done in the past, and just kept fighting through it, maintaining his composure and poise. He’s just grown leaps and bounds.”

In a season full of firsts, Sánchez can’t wait for his first start as a father.

“It was the best time possible. It all happened in perfect timing. I was able to go to the hospital and meet my kid, my wife, and just spend two days with them at the hospital,” he said. “All normal to me. The next day I just came here, did my throwing program, had a bullpen session, and it’s all been just regular for me, luckily.”

Columbo: Sri Lanka Cricket has appointed former Test cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya as the head coach.

Sri Lanka Cricket formally announced the appointment of Sanath Jayasuriya.

In this regard, Sri Lanka Cricket stated that the executive committee decided to appoint Jayasuriya based on the good performance of the team.

The Sri Lankan team performed well in the series against India, England, and New Zealand. In these series, Jayasuriya was the interim coach of the Sri Lankan cricket team.

Sri Lanka Cricket said Jayasuriya was appointed from October 1, 2024 to March 31, 2026.

Multan: In the first match of the three-Test series between Pakistan and England, Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first on Monday.

In the first Test being played at the Multan Cricket Stadium, Shan Masood, the captain of the national team, won the toss and decided to bat first against England.

It is pertinent to note that Ollie Pope is leading the team in the absence of Ben Stokes, the captain of the England test team, while national fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was dropped from the second test match against Bangladesh due to the birth of his son, is back in the team.

Pakistan Playing XI

Shaan Masood (c), Saeem Ayub, Abdullah Shafiq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Muhammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed.

England Playing XI

Ollie Pope (c), Zac Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brayden Carrs, Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir.

MULTAN: Pakistan on Monday won the toss and opted to bat first in the first Test against England being played at the Multan Cricket Stadium.

The three-match Test series is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 and will see the national side striving for some redemption in the longer format of the game after suffering a humiliating whitewash against Bangladesh last month.

The Shan Masood-led side has lost five Tests in a row, whereas the visitors are coming into the series after securing a 2-1 victory against Sri Lanka in September. 

“We want to change things and get back on track,” said Masood at the toss, adding that the national side has opted to go with two spinners and three fast bowlers in the match.

This is a developing story and is being updated with more details.