June 19, 2016
For Zach Eflin, an improved performance on the mound in his second major league start didn’t have to do with any nerves being held in check. This was all about execution, the boring little things that any pitcher needs to do to be successful.
“Really just focus and concentration,” Eflin said on Sunday. “Getting ahead in the [count], working down in the zone.”
After his day of work was finished, Eflin’s ERA stood at a cool 10.80. Still pretty darn bad, but after his disastrous first major league start in Toronto last week, the big 22-year-old righthander will surely take it. In 5.2 innings of work, Eflin saw that ERA of his drop over 16 runs.
To his manager, Eflin’s demeanor gave him a hint that a better outing was in the offing.
“Even after the game in Toronto, he seemed like he knew what he needed to do,” Pete Mackanin said. “He’s pretty cool, calm, and collected. He’s not an emotional guy. I think knows what he’s up against, knows what he has to do, and shows a lot of poise.”
With the record lows that the lineup is currently sinking to, though, Eflin’s start didn’t really matter. He wasn’t perfect in surrendering a couple of runs, and perfect was what he needed to be. The Arizona Diamondbacks cruised past the Phillies for the third consecutive day at Citizens Bank Park, this time by a 5-1 score.
The Phillies managed just three hits against Archie Bradley and the Diamondbacks bullpen. They have lost six in a row and 19 of their last 23 games. That painful rebuilding that we were all expecting at the beginning of the year is very much here.
It seems like all 25 players have gone ice cold at the same time. When he was asked if he had experienced something like this, Mackanin couldn’t think of many other examples.
“This is unusual,” Mackanin said. “As I said yesterday, we need somebody to solidify the offense as well as the pitching. We need some professional at-bats. The guys are not the type of hitters that are established.”
Hamstrung by what is on pace to be a historically terrible offense, the Phillies can’t do much right nowadays. The season’s first two months, when the team was winning one-run game after one-run game, seem like ages ago. So they’ll have to settle for little victories, like a decent start from a young piece acquired in the Jimmy Rollins trade.
With improved fastball command, Eflin resembled the pitcher who went 5-2 with a 2.90 ERA at Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season. His final line: 5.2 innings pitched, 4 hits, 2 earned runs, 3 strikeouts, and 1 walk.
“I looked at a lot of different things,” Eflin said. “I was kind of rushing [in Toronto]. I was just really focusing on getting back in my load and really staying down in the zone, working quick, and getting extension.”
Even when the Phillies scored a run, it came the hard way. With the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the sixth, 3-hole hitter Tommy Joseph grounded into a double play. The Phils, who are hitting .225/.279/.360 for the season, wouldn’t be able to push another run across in the inning.
Mackanin mixed up the lineup again today, moving the struggling Maikel Franco back to sixth behind Cody Asche. The move didn’t help Franco, who went 0 for 4 and saw his batting average drop to .236 on the season.
“Even Franco, as good a hitter as he’s going to be at one point in time, he’s still a young guy, first full year in the big leagues,” Mackanin said. “It would be nice to have someone surrounding him that you can kind of count on.”
The Phillies had 40,214 people on hand for a nice Father’s Day afternoon, a crowd which included Eflin’s father. They were treated to a nice day at the ballpark, but the offense again couldn’t provide them with any excitement. Phillies fans have to take what they can get at this point, and today, that was a decent start by the young starter.
Eflin isn’t one of the team’s top prospects, but just like everyone else, he’s getting the opportunity to show his stuff in the big leagues. And just like the rest of the Phillies, he has the chance to improve.
“Just getting out there with the ball in your hand with 40,000 people is pretty cool,” Eflin said.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
