Phillies tab Eflin for 3rd start as club looks to rebound against Cardinals

By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor

The Philadelphia Phillies (25-17) will look to rebound and regain momentum in the four-game series, as RHP Zach Eflin opposes RHP John Gant and the St. Louis Cardinals (24-18) in a Saturday matinee at Busch Stadium.

The Phillies fell 12-4 in the second game of the series on Friday, outhit 15-7. Starter Jake Arrieta threw his third start of the season — out of eight overall — with four or fewer innings pitched. In three frames, Arrieta allowed four runs — two earned — on five hits, two walks and just one strikeout on 64 pitches and 41 strikes. Utility player Pedro Florimon made his second appearance this season as a pitcher in the eighth and retired all three batters faced. Florimon homered the next half-inning. Odubel Herrera (two-RBI single) and Cesar Hernandez (solo home run) also produced runs in the loss, while Hernandez, Scott Kingery and pitcher Drew Hutchison committed errors in the field.

Despite the loss, the Phillies continue to sit just a half game out of the division, as well as the National League (NL) overall. The Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers are now both tied, however, atop the NL.

Starting Pitching Matchup:

Philadelphia Phillies (25-17)			St. Louis Cardinals (24-18)
RHP	Zach Eflin		RHP	John Gant
RHP	(1-0, 0.71 ERA)		RHP	(1-1, 4.15 ERA)

RHP Zach Eflin, Age: 24

Career vs. STL: N/A
Career at Busch Stadium: N/A

Eflin has impressed in his two starts since being recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on April 30 to replace Ben Lively (back) in the rotation. The right-hander has surrendered just one run in a combined 12 2/3 innings against the Miami Marlins and San Francisco Giants, striking out 13 batters while allowing just seven hits and three walks.

The Orlando, Florida, native's last turn in the rotation was skipped due to the Saturday, May 12, home rainout against the New York Mets, which was postponed until August 16. Eflin has never faced the Cardinals thus far through 24 career starts.

RHP John Gant, Age: 25

Career vs. PHI: 0-0, 4.50 ERA, 2 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 6 SO, 1.167 WHIP
Career at Busch Stadium: 1-2, 4.41 ERA, 5 G, 2 GS, 16 1/3 IP, 15 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 1 HR, 5 BB, 12 SO, 1.224 WHIP

Gant has won just one of his 10 career starts, going a combined 1-5 with a 5.19 ERA and 37-21 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 43 1/3 innings. In 21 career relief appearances, Gant is 1-1 with a 4.14 ERA and 34-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio spanning 37 frames.

The Savannah, Georgia, native was drafted by the New York Mets in the 21st round of the 2011 amateur draft, and was dealt four years later to the Braves — with Robert Whalen — for Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe. The right-hander was then dealt to St. Louis on Dec. 1, 2016 — along with two minor leaguers — for southpaw Jaime Garcia.

Both of Gant's two career appearances against the Phillies — one start and one relief appearance — came while as a member of the Braves in September 2016. In the start at Citizens Bank Park, Gant allowed four runs — three earned — on five hits and a walk through five innings.

Starting Lineups:

Philadelphia Phillies (25-17)				St. Louis Cardinals (24-18)
	Position	Player	Bats		Position	Player	Bats
1	2B	Cesar Hernandez	S	1	CF	Tommy Pham	R
2	LF	Rhys Hoskins	R	2	3B	Matt Carpenter	L
3	CF	Odubel Herrera	L	3	1B	Jose Martinez	R
4	1B	Carlos Santana	S	4	LF	Marcell Ozuna	R
5	C	Jorge Alfaro	R	5	SS	Jedd Gyorko	R
6	RF	Nick Williams	L	6	2B	Kolten Wong	L
7	3B	Maikel Franco	R	7	RF	Tyler O'Neill	R
8	SS	Scott Kingery	R	8	C	Steven Baron	R
9	P	Zach Eflin	R	9	P	John Gant	R

Broadcast Information:

First pitch: 2:15 p.m.
TV: NBCSP
Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP

Game Notes:

Despite exiting Friday evening's game early with right knee soreness, catcher Jorge Alfaro will appear in starting lineup on Saturday. Alfaro banged his knee into the backstop wall while chasing a wild pitch.
The Phillies have not won a series against the Cardinals since August 2014 at Citizens Bank Park. They have not won a series at Busch Stadium since May 2012, having gone 0-4-1 in their last five road series opposite St. Louis since 2013.
Herrera's two-RBI single on Friday extended his on-base streak to 44 straight games, longest by a Phillies player since outfielder Bobby Abreu (48) in 2000-2001. Herrera has a six-game hitting streak, slashing .455/.520/.682. He continues to lead the NL in batting average (.358).
The only active Cardinals player to have previously faced Eflin is outfielder Marcell Ozuna. Ozuna is hitless over his last 18 plate appearances and four games, however, producing just two runs, one RBI, two walks and three strikeouts with a .000/.111/.000 slash. Third baseman Maikel Franco is 3-3 lifetime against Gant with two doubles and a RBI.