PHILADELPHIA _ Buoyed by a hot batting order that smacked four home runs, Zach Eflin commanded the mound Tuesday night, pitching a complete game and leading the Phillies to a 5-1 win over the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park.
He became the first Phillies rookie to pitch a complete game since Vance Worley in 2011.
Tuesday night marked Eflin's fourth major league start and his first win, a far cry from the eight earned runs he allowed in 22/3 innings in his major league debut. The 22-year-old pitcher was called up to the Phillies last month after 11 starts at triple-A Lehigh Valley. On Tuesday, he allowed six hits and one run, dropping his ERA to 4.30.
The same young team that could not manage a win for nine straight games last month has won seven of its last eight.
Through the first four innings, Eflin allowed only three singles. All of those were erased on double plays, and a fourth double play closed out the seventh.
A starter had pitched more than seven innings only once in the team's previous 83 games (Vince Velasquez on April 14). Now Jerad Eickhoff and Eflin have done it on back-to-back nights, although it was against the Braves, who are now 28-56.
Peter Bourjos started the night off with his fourth home run of the season and his third in two weeks. In the first inning, Bourjos hammered a fastball 390 feet over the left-field wall, extending his hitting streak to 14 games.
Following Bourjos' lead, Cody Asche capitalized on a full count in the fourth inning, hitting a 425-foot homer to right. Maikel Franco and Tommy Joseph followed with singles. Each advanced on a wild pitch by Mike Foltynewicz, and a Freddy Galvis RBI widened the Phillies' lead to 3-0.
The big hits kept coming for the Phillies.
In the sixth, Franco cleared the left-field wall, marking his third straight game with a home run and his fourth homer in the last seven games. Joseph followed suit, ripping another shot 428 feet into the seats in left-center.
Center fielder Odubel Herrera became an All-Star Tuesday but had a quiet night otherwise, going 1-for-4.
