Phils Power Prayers Answered

Franco is 1st Phils power hitter in a long time.

Mikail Franco homered for the 3rd straight night as the Phils 4 HR in all powered them to their 3rd win in a row.  They also secured their 3rd-straight series win by taking the first 2-of-3 vs. Atlanta and have now won 8-of-their-last-10.  In his last 5 games, Franco has 3 HR and 7 RBI, while batting .526.

Franco is 18-44, hitting .409 since June 24th.  He is now on pace for the first 30-HR season by a Phillies player since Ryan Howard's 33 in '11 and the first by a Phillies 3rd baseman since Scott Rolen hit 31 in 1998.

Tommy Joseph, Cody Asche and Peter Bourjos also homered for the Phils whose offensive onslaught has led the majors for weeks after a season of dismally low prior production.

"It was nice to see," manager Pete Mackanin said. "Guys are still swinging the bats pretty well. ... We took advantage of some pitches up in the zone."

Bourjos, known as a Gold Glove caliber outfielder, has now hit safely in 14-straight games. "I think everybody puts together good at-bats and that puts pressure on the pitcher to make his pitches," Bourjos said. "He threw some pitches over the plate and we hit some home runs."

Eflin doused for big performance.

The big news on the day was 22 year-old right-hander Zach Eflin, who not only won his first major league game, but did it with a complete game shutout.

"I was just out there with loads of confidence," Eflin said.

Elfin, the Phils return from the Dodgers for Jimmy Rollins in 2014, S.O. 6 and walked none.  He was economical at 92 pitches: "The less pitches the better," he said, smiling.

He's the first Phillies rookie to throw a complete game since Vance Worley in July 2011.

"It's something you can't really describe, just being around these guys," Eflin said.

After losing an almost incomprehensible 22-of-26 and 13-of-14 in June, the Phils have officially rebounded by winning 7-of-8 to move within 7 games of a NL wild-card spot.

"There's a bunch of chemistry in this locker room," said rookie Eflin, "It's a really cool thing to be a part of."

Congratulations: Herrera is an all-star.

CF Obdul Herrera was the only Phillies player named to the NL All-Star team. He entered ranked first in four-hit games with three and had two separate hitting streaks of at least 10 games.

Herrera, batting .302, said that he was proud to represent the Phillies, then burst into laughter when he was jokingly asked whether he would participate in the home run derby during the all-star weekend.  He has 10 HR, which is significant for him, but hardly a power presence among the greater major leagues.

Herrera batted .313 in April, .325 in May, .276 in June and is hitting .294 thusfar in July.  His .302 season averages ranks 16th in the NL, while his .388 OBP is 13th and his 43 walks rank 8th.  It's hard to recall a more pure true leadoff hitter in a Phillies uniform.  Hopefully, this all-star appearance will be the 1st of many for Herrera, who has a great chance at age 24 to lead the Phils well into the future.

Wednesday at 1:05PM ET, the Phillies (39-46) will face rookie Tyrell Jenkins (0-1 with a 5.79 ERA), which means Tuesday's 4 HR was a mere warm up for Wednesday's home run derby.

The Phils will counter with veteran Jeremy Hellickson, who has been steady and successful.  Over his last 3 starts, Hellickson is 2-1 with a 2.37 ERA, allowing 5 earned runs in 19 innings with 15 S.O. and just 2 BB.