Zach Eflin and the Phillies are on a roll.
Eflin pitched seven strong innings for his sixth straight victory Youth Ian Thomas Jersey , Andrew Knapp had the winning hit for the second straight game and Philadelphia beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 on Tuesday night for its 11th win in 16 games.
Rhys Hoskins had a two-run double, rookie Seranthony Dominguez pitched four outs for his eighth save and Maikel Franco made a game-saving defensive play for the Phillies, who pulled within 2 1/2 games of the Braves for first place in the NL East.
”It was a great team win,” Eflin said.
Eflin (7-2) allowed two runs and five hits with six strikeouts and no walks to become the first Phillies pitcher since Cliff Lee in 2011 to record six consecutive wins. The right-hander has a 1.91 ERA while striking out 34 and walking six in 37 2/3 innings over that stretch.
”More aggressive and trusting my pitches,” Eflin said.
The Phillies bullpen preserved the win, but it got interesting.
Tommy Hunter got the first two outs of the eighth before manager Gabe Kapler went to Dominguez with Orioles star Manny Machado up.
”One of the best hitters in the game, you try to neutralize him with your best bullet,” Kapler said.
Dominguez walked Machado and Mark Trumbo to load the bases for Chris Davis. Franco made a stellar diving play to his right at third base to snare Davis’ ground ball before throwing him out at first to keep the Phillies ahead 3-2. The out was upheld after an Orioles challenge.
”Play of the game,” Kapler said. ”Got us the win.”
Franco, who has been in and out of the lineup this season, cherished the out.
”I just tried to make a good play and make a good throw,” he said. ”I wanted that play so bad.”
Trumbo homered for Baltimore, which has dropped eight of nine.
”The effort was there,” Trumbo said. ”The frustration, it’s as much as you make of it.”
The game was delayed 1 hour Youth Joel Iyiegbuniwe Jersey , 25 minutes due to rain and played mostly under a persistent drizzle.
Philadelphia took a one-run lead in the fourth on Knapp’s two-out triple to right off Alex Cobb (2-10) that scored Nick Williams. Knapp, Philadelphia’s backup catcher, started two days after his game-ending homer in the 13th lifted the Phillies over the Nationals 4-3.
Cobb gave up three runs on four hits with five strikeouts and three walks in 6 2/3 innings.
Trumbo staked Baltimore to a 1-0 lead by crushing Eflin’s 94 mph fastball into the seats in left in the second.
Philadelphia went in front 2-1 in the third on Hoskins’ two-out double off the wall in left that scored Franco and Cesar Hernandez.
CHEERS FOR MANNY
Machado, speculated to be a target of the Phillies either via trade or free agency, was loudly cheered when he was introduced by PA announcer Dan Baker prior to the contest.
EFLIN’S BLISTER
Eflin was pulled after just 82 pitches, and Kapler said that was partly because of a blister on Eflin’s right middle finger. Eflin said he was ready and able to continue if asked. Eflin was hampered consistently by blisters last season, but Tuesday was his first time dealing with one this year.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: OF Colby Rasmus has been placed on the restricted list after informing the club that he was leaving the team. Rasmus has struggled with a left hip injury for two seasons. He was hitting .133 with one homer in 18 games this season after signing a one-year, $3 million deal in the offseason. … INF Steve Wilkerson (left oblique) was placed on the 10-day DL. Wilkerson, who is 4 for 17 since making his debut June 20, was injured in Sunday’s 8-2 win over the Angels.
Phillies: RHP Jerad Eickhoff (right lat strain) will throw live batting practice Wednesday. He has been out all season. … Reliever Edubray Ramos (right shoulder impingement), who has been on the DL since June 25, threw a bullpen Tuesday and could be activated on Friday.
UP NEXT
Baltimore rookie RHP Yefry Ramirez (0-1, 2.89) will make his second start and third appearance with the Orioles against Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (10-2, 2.48) on Wednesday afternoon.
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Much of the NFL season seemed like a Hollywood sequel without the leading actors from the original as injuries claimed so many superstars, leaving the playoff field awash in postseason party crashers .
Among them are the Buffalo Bills Youth Roquan Smith Jersey , who just might have to go into their first playoff game in 17 seasons with a running back who had never gained a single yard before last week.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are thankful they don’t have a game this weekend, giving receiver Antonio Brown another week to heal from his torn left calf that has sidelined him for three weeks.
Brown is the only consensus All-Pro in the season of the injured superstar, a year that had such a devastating effect on many of the usual championship contenders such as Green Bay and Seattle and helped usher eight new teams into this year’s playoff field.
The Packers’ playoff hopes were crushed when Minnesota’s Anthony Barr squashed Aaron Rodgers, breaking the quarterback’s collarbone. The Seahawks turned into the ”Legion of Whom? ” with season-ending injuries to Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor.
The Texans missed the playoffs after injuries to defenders J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus and sensational rookie Deshaun Watson, who was leading the league with 19 touchdown throws before he tore his right ACL in practice two days after Halloween.
Bills running back LeSean McCoy is hopeful he can play on a sprained ankle in Sunday’s AFC wild-card game at Jacksonville, the franchise’s first postseason kickoff since the ”Music City Miracle” in 2000.
”I don’t want to make any promises,” said McCoy.
Nobody can this year, it seems.
Brown was a leading MVP candidate when he collided with Patriots DB Eric Rowe on Dec. 17 and hobbled off with a torn calf, then watched Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski rally in the fourth quarter for a crucial 24-21 win that gave New England the top seed in the AFC again despite losing Julian Edelman in the preseason.
The NFC’s top seed is also missing a big name: second-year QB Carson Wentz, whose knee injury thrust backup Nick Foles into the starting job for the playoffs.
The Bills have no established running back behind McCoy on the depth chart. Marcus Murphy was promoted from the practice squad ahead of the Week 17 win over the Dolphins, rushing for 41 yards on seven carries. Buffalo also has veteran fullback/running back Mike Tolbert.
”I think we’re moving in the right direction,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said of McCoy. ”Will we be able to get there in time? We’ll see.”
If not, they’ll be without their most explosive and most consistent playmaker, one who finished the year with 1,138 rushing yards and six touchdowns. His absence would leave a hole in Buffalo’s offensive attack; the Bills finished the regular season with the 31st-ranked passing attack in the league.
Other teams overcame big injuries to reach the playoffs Youth Anthony Miller Jersey , including the Vikings after rookie running back Dalvin Cook tore an ACL on Oct. 1 against the Lions, and the Panthers, who overcame the loss of longtime tight end Greg Olsen, who broke a foot against the Bills in September.
In addition to Edelman, the Patriots lost linebacker Dont’a Hightower to a torn chest muscle and the Chiefs lost Eric Berry to a ruptured left Achilles tendon.
The Rams lost All-Pro kicker Greg Zuerlein last month to a back injury and the Steelers lost linebacker Ryan Shazier to a spine injury last month that could end his career.
The Eagles were all the rage in the topsy-turvy NFL this season until Wentz tore his left ACL against the Rams on Dec. 10.
Wentz was a leading MVP candidate when he got hurt. The Eagles’ passing game has struggled since Nick Foles took over. He’s spending Philadelphia’s bye week trying to develop more chemistry and consistency with his receivers.
”We’ve got some good work the last couple of weeks with Nick,” coach Doug Pederson said. ”We have to get better in the run game. That helps any quarterback obviously.”
Wentz’s injury continued a trend in which it seemed like a superstar would suffer a season-ending injury just about every weekend.
Even Joe Thomas, the Cleveland Browns’ ironman left tackle, got hurt in 2017.
Thomas suffered a torn triceps on Oct. 22 against Tennessee and underwent season-ending surgery.
Before he got hurt, the 10-time Pro Bowler had played every snap of his career, reaching 10,363 consecutive plays, believed to be a record.
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