Eflin strong in return, Phillies beat Braves

Theo DeRosa

August 8 2017

By Theo DeRosa, Sports Talk Philly staff

Final: Phillies 5, Braves 2

ATLANTA — Five minutes before the first pitch of Tuesday night's game between the Phillies and the Braves, it was clear that it wasn't going to be Atlanta's night.

Johan Camargo, penciled in as the Braves' starting shortstop, skipped lightly over the chalk on the first-base line on his way out to the field before the top of the first. Camargo tripped, and his knee buckled. He stayed down, was attended to by trainers, and left the game with what the team called a hyperextended knee.

The ominous injury turned out to foreshadow another Braves loss, as the Phillies continued their success against their Southern foes with a 5-2 win in Atlanta on Tuesday.

Zach Eflin returned to the majors and allowed just two runs in seven innings. Odúbel Herrera keyed a two-run fourth inning with a walk in a long at-bat and extended a lead in the fifth with a two-run homer.

WP: Zach Eflin (1-3, 5.67) ❖ LP: Julio Teherán (7-10, 5.25) ❖ S: Neris (12)

Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next

Game Summary

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
PHI	0	0	0	2	3	0	0	0	0	5	11	0
ATL	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	8	1

Freddie Freeman spoiled an otherwise clean first inning back for Eflin, who was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday as catcher Andrew Knapp was placed on the disabled list with a hand fracture.

Eflin was economical with his pitches and shut down a fairly weak Atlanta lineup through the middle of the game, not allowing another run until the seventh.

Herrera worked a one-out walk off of Braves starter Julio Teherán in the fourth after a lengthy at-bat, including a very close 2-2 pitch that Herrera laid off (and pointed 'low' at) and which was called a ball. Tommy Joseph struck out looking, but Nick Williams drove the first pitch from Teherán into the gap in right-center for an RBI double. Cameron Rupp was intentionally walked to bring up Eflin, a decision which turned out to be a poor one for the Braves. Eflin hit a soft liner up the middle to score Williams from second and give the Phillies the lead. It was a 36-pitch inning for Teherán, who was little better in the next frame.

Freddy Galvis bunted for a single to lead off the fifth, and stole second on a strikeout. Maikel Franco lined a ball to right that hit the chalk line, a single to score Galvis and put the Phillies ahead. Teherán got ahead of Herrera 0-2, but Herrera launched a low breaking ball into the Chop House restaurant in the right-field stands (replete with bat flip, of course.)

Teherán exited after five less-than-stellar innings, giving way to Sam Freeman. Freeman pitched a scoreless sixth, Luke Jackson had a scoreless seventh, and Max Fried made his major-league debut with two scoreless innings.

Eflin allowed three straight hits to begin the bottom of the seventh, including an RBI knock from Matt Adams. The right-hander settled down, though, and kept the Braves to the lone run.

Hoby Milner pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth, working around an infield single from Brandon Phillips.

In the ninth, Héctor Neris earned his twelfth save of the year with a 1-2-3 frame. The Phillies improved to 10-2 against the Braves in 2017.

Jerad Eickhoff (2-7, 4.56 ERA) gets the ball for the second of two games in this series, another 7:35 p.m. start. He faces rookie left-hander Sean Newcomb (1-5, 4.61 ERA).

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