Eflin gave up three homers, including a grand slam to Josh Donaldson. Solid command numbers. The home runs are killing him, though.
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Eflin allowed a double to Donaldson and an RBI single by Russell Martin in the first inning. For Encarnacion, who sat out Monday with a sore right index finger, the blast was his fourth in four games.
The Phillies will counter with a familiar face to the Blue Jays lineup in Jeremy Hellickson. Could he begin a monthlong run of success that’d help fatten that possible return before the August 1 trade deadline?
The young-and-up coming Phillies played some pretty good baseball in the first two months of the season. He nonetheless said he thought the game was something of a struggle for the right-hander. “We had our chances”.
On the year, Hellickson has struck out 8.6 batters per nine innings and walked 2.4. “They all scored. That was our demise from the pitching aspect”. As of late, the focus has turned towards his contract, which ends at the end of this season. Of course. But he also has more home runs this season than Victor Martinez, Ryan Zimmerman, Andrew McCutchen, Ian Desmond, Jose Abreu, Brian McCann and a whole bunch of other big names. Their fifth straight loss put their record at 19-23, seven games off the pace in the American League East, the division they won in 2015. The two teams will play on Wednesday and Thursday in Philadelphia.
Asche hit his second homer into the second deck in right field in the bottom of the second. Cody Asche doubles to deep right center field.
“I felt better”, Stroman said.
But as for the rest of the game? He became the first pitcher since 2009 to allow eight or more earned runs in fewer than three innings in his debut, and his eight earned runs were the most allowed by a Phillies pitcher in his debut since 1927.
“Every night’s a test for everybody”, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. “Now he doesn’t seem to have command of his split and he’s getting behind”.
“I’m good”, Neris said. “You give him something to hit and he’s going to hit it”. The point is to get back. Because this day is past.
Stroman’s strikeout rate is down significantly this season, from 7.6 per nine in his rookie year to 6.0 now. Velasquez had an 8.10 ERA in four starts before going on the disabled list.
There’s still time to get right, with more than six weeks until the deadline, but Hellickson’s first three starts in June are troubling: he’s 0-2 with a 7.41 ERA.
Royals 3, Indians 2: Salvador Perez hit a two-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning, and Kansas City held on through a shaky ninth to beat Cleveland. “It’s not exactly where I want to be, but looking forward to the next one”. Reliever Jesse Chavez came on to strike out pinch hitter Ryan Howard.
“He feels a lot better”, Mackanin said. San Diego traded him to L.A.in a five-player deal in December 2014 that sent Yasmani Grandal to the Dodgers and Matt Kemp back to the Padres.
Franco could help an offense in need of regular production.
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Despite hitting at least one home run in 12 of their last 14 games, Philadelphia has dropped to a season-worst six games below.500.
