Five things learned about the Phillies after yet another series loss
By John Town
Zach Eflin becoming worrisome
Remember when Zach Eflin was doing so well he was untouchable in a Manny Machado trade? That feels like forever ago. Through June, Eflin had a 3.02 ERA with 57 strikeouts, 14 walks, and four home runs allowed in 56.2 innings. He was arguably the team’s second-best pitcher behind Aaron Nola.
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Since then, things have been radically different for Eflin. In his last 10 starts, he has a 5.13 ERA, 4.60 fielding-independent pitching, and a 19.5% strikeout rate, 5.5% lower compared to his first 10. Since being optioned for roster manipulation reasons, he has allowed 20 runs, 16 earned runs, 37 hits and nine walks in 26.1 innings.
Eflin’s start Saturday night was the fourth straight time he allowed four or more runs in a start.
One run was unearned due to a throwing error by Asdrubal Cabrera at shortstop. In total, Eflin allowed seven hits and one walk while striking out one batter. The start raised his ERA to 4.05 and WHIP to 1.26 for the season.
At this point, we have to start worrying about Eflin moving forward. He had a strong start to the season but has greatly struggled since July started. He has certainly not cemented himself as a rotation piece of the future considering his performance the last two months.