The Phillies are on pace for 104 losses, the most in franchise history since 1961. Eflin, one of several young hurlers the Phillies hope to build around for the future, left after five innings with shoulder discomfort.
It was just one of those nights.
The current road trip wasn't supposed to go like this. The Padres and Giants are two of baseball's worst teams, yet the Phillies have dropped five straight. The bats fell silent Friday, scoring just two runs on one of baseball's most ineffective starters in Matt Moore.
“It’s frustrating when you look up at the numbers and you see that,” Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. “You kind of hope we can get to the guy. But for whatever reason the bats are just silent right now.”
Eflin said his shoulder had bothered him all night as he persevered to throw 85 pitches. He's dealt with shoulder pain before, but he said this felt different.
Not a good sign.
“I’ve had some soreness back there before but not really like this,” Eflin said. “This is a little different than I’ve had before. So, sleep on it, come in tomorrow and see how it feels.”
Rhys Hoskins went hitless on the night, but drew a pair of walks. Jorge Alfaro chipped in with two hits for the Phillies in the losing effort. Hector Neris surrendered three earned runs on four hits in an inning of relief.
The Phillies will turn to righty Jerad Eickhoff on Saturday as the club searches for its first win on this seven-game road trip. The Giants with counter with Ty Black who tossed a shutout against the Phillies on June 2.
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