Six things we learned from Phillies big series win over the Brewers
By John Town
Maybe Zach Eflin has things figured out
Zach Eflin’s first two major-league seasons were plagued by injury and inconsistency. He showed real promise his rookie year, but chronic knee issues cut his 2016 season short. He didn’t fare well last year either and ended the year on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. He started this year in Triple-A after Ben Lively secured the final spot in the rotation during spring training.
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After Lively went on the disabled list, the team called up Eflin to replace him. He has seized the opportunity and secured a spot in the rotation. In eight starts this year, he has a 3.43 ERA, 3.06 fielding-independent pitching, and 1.14 WHIP. His 24.9 percent strikeout rate is nearly double compared to last year while he has only walked six percent of opposing hitters.
Eflin picked up his third straight win and second straight against the Brewers Saturday. He allowed one run in five innings to the same Brewers team who put up four earned runs against Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta in the series. They managed just three hits and one walk against Eflin, striking out six times.
This is easily the longest stretch of time Eflin has put up great numbers like this. He has stayed healthy and pitched well so far this year. Eflin may finally have things figured out on the mound, which is great considering Jerad Eickhoff won’t be back until after the All-Star break at the earliest.