PITTSBURGH _ Cameron Rupp walked to the mound in the eighth inning of Friday night's 4-0 win over the Pirates and wrapped his arm around the young Phillies pitcher.
Zach Eflin was a pitch away from ending the eighth inning at PNC Park and keeping his shutout alive. The 22-year-old needed to fire one more pitch past Josh Harrison and he would be onto the ninth. The two ended their chat and Rupp smacked Eflin on the back.
Two pitches later, Eflin found strike No. 3 as he fired a 94-mph fastball past Harrison. Rupp pumped his fist and shouted through his catcher's mask. Eflin was putting the finishing touches on a special night. He struck out six batters and walked none.
Eflin is the youngest Phillies pitcher to throw a shutout since Kevin Gross in 1983. He controlled the Pirates with good command of his slider and fastball. His strikeouts tied his career high, but the pitcher showed no fear in pitching to contact. At one point, he retired 14 batters in a row. Eflin was dealing.
Eflin has a 2.08 ERA in his seven starts since his troubling debut when he allowed eight earned runs to the Blue Jays in fewer than three innings. Friday was his second complete game in his last four starts. Eflin _ 22 years, 105 days _ is the youngest Phillies pitcher to have two complete games in a season since 1975 when Tom Underwood and Larry Christenson both recorded their second before turning 22.
It would be hard to find another 22-year-old who would have responded to that afternoon in Toronto like Eflin did. His manager lauds him for his composure.
Odubel Herrera, who entered Friday mired in a slump, supplied the first two runs and had his first multihit game since July 6.
He started the sixth with a single as his sharp ground ball rocked off the first-base bag and bounced into the air. He had ended the fifth inning with a leaping catch against the center-field wall. A few minutes later, he was crossing home plate on a bases-loaded single by Cameron Rupp. Herrera doubled with two outs in the seventh and scored on a single by Andres Blanco.
Rupp added a two-run homer in the ninth, giving Eflin more of a cushion to work with.
Maikel Franco left the game in the fourth inning for precautionary reasons. He was hit near the left wrist with a 96-mph fastball in the first inning and instantly collapsed to the ground. Franco was examined by the team's trainer but remained in the game until being replaced by Blanco in the fourth. Franco's exit brings concern as he missed 45 games last season when a pitch fractured his left wrist.
It was hard to foresee Eflin's night when he allowed a leadoff double in the second to John Jaso. It may have been a homer had it not been for PNC Park's oversized wall in right. Eflin had allowed a pair of deep fly outs in the first, perhaps the Pirates were ready to strike.
Instead, the rookie reacted the same way he did after that day in Toronto. He held his ground. Eflin made Francisco Cervelli look foolish on a strikeout and then caught Jaso in a rundown. Starling Marte grounded out to end the inning and Eflin escaped with no damage. His special night was underway.
