DENVER _ It was almost four weeks ago that Zach Eflin was rocked in his major-league debut. That afternoon could not have gone any worse as the right-hander allowed eight earned runs in less than three innings. And Eflin's response to that dismal outing could not have been better.
Eflin, who allowed two runs Sunday in a 10-3 win against Colorado at Coors Field, has a 2.20 ERA in his five starts since that day in Toronto. He struck out three batters and walked two. Eflin limited the damage despite allowing seven hits, three of which were for extra bases.
The 22-year-old had good command of his fastball, which he mixed with effective breaking pitches. Eflin threw 15 balls in the first inning before settling in and throwing just 12 over the next five innings.
He was aided Sunday by a Phillies offense that scored its most runs in nearly three weeks. Cameron Rupp blasted a 465-foot homer in the seventh and finished 4 for 4. It was the first four-hit game of his career.
Rupp's homer _ which soared to dead center _ was bested an inning later when Maikel Franco slammed a 471-foot home run to left field. Franco's bomb was the longest homer by a Phillies player since Ryan Howard hit a 475-foot shot in 2011. Rupp and Franco's homers joined Tommy Joseph's 455-foot homer Friday as the team's three-longest homers this season as the Phillies took advantage of the high-altitude at Coors Field.
Franco will ride a 10-game hitting streak into the All-Star break and is batting .450 (18 for 40) over the stretch that dates to July 1. He went 3 for 5 on Sunday. Rupp, Franco, and Freddy Galvis each finished the rout with multiple hits. Galvis has two hits in each of the past five games as his batting average has climbed from .218 to .235.
