On June 25, he was called up to the majors to start the second half of a doubleheader in Yankee Stadium against the Yankees. Sánchez's major league debut was a strong one, as he allowed seven hits and no runs in 5 innings against the Yankees. He then turned the game over to his bullpen, which blanked the Yankees the rest of the way, shutting out the Yankees for the first time all year, 5–0. Sánchez became just the second visiting starter in the past decade to win his big-league debut at Yankee Stadium (fellow Venezuelan Gustavo Chacín of the Toronto Blue Jays, who beat the Yankees in September 2004, is the other). On July 14, the 22-year-old Sánchez started against and defeated Houston Astros pitcher Roger Clemens, who made his MLB debut when Sánchez was just three months old.