PHILADELPHIA _ Two days before baseball's delayed trade deadline in this sprint season, general managers of teams with a shot at qualifying for the expanded playoffs are conceiving of moves they could make to improve their rosters.
The Phillies are simply making their move.
Having already pulled off two trades for three relievers to help out a bullpen so overmatched that it was killing the season, the Phillies got a strong start from Zach Eflin, a three-run homer from Rhys Hoskins and survived another tense ninth inning from Brandon Workman to record their fifth consecutive victory, 4-1 over the Atlanta Braves, between the raindrops Saturday at Citizens Bank Park.
Don't look now, but two games shy of the midpoint of their 60-game schedule, the Phillies are tied in the loss column with the division-leading Braves, who have played five more games. The Phillies have also won five games in a row for the first time in two years, since the Sons of Gabe Kapler reeled off five consecutive victories from July 31 to Aug. 5, 2018.
The Phillies haven't lost since last Saturday night in Atlanta, when Bryce Harper called for them to "go on a streak and win nine out of 10." They're at least halfway there with a streak that started one night later when catcher Andrew Knapp tagged out the Braves' Dansby Swanson on a game-ending play at the plate and later said it was "one of those wins that you look at at the end of the season and say, 'Man, that really turned our season around.' "
It's still premature to say that will be the case. But as the Braves scramble to find starting pitching, and the New York Mets try to replace opted-out pitcher Marcus Stroman and slugger Yoenis Cespedes, and the Washington Nationals cope with a season-ending injury to co-ace Stephen Strasburg, the Phillies at least appear to finally be hitting their stride after early-season fits and starts.
With Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler atop the rotation, the Phillies like their chances at least in at least 40% of their games. When Eflin pitches like he did Sunday, they could make a case for having the best rotation in the division.
As usual, Eflin leaned on his sinker. But he dominated the Braves, retiring 11 batters in a row at one point, because of his curveball. He threw the pitch only 19 times but got five swing-and-misses and five called strikes. Five of his eight strikeouts came on breaking balls.
The Phillies gave Eflin a lead by manufacturing a run in the first inning. Andrew McCutchen reached on an infield single, went to second on a passed ball, moved to third on Hoskins' deep fly ball, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Harper.
Hoskins provided the breathing room in the fifth inning. After previously missing a homer by inches with a smash off the padding on the center-field fence in front of the Phillies' bullpen that went for a double, Hoskins left no doubt by tagging a two-strike fastball from Braves starter Josh Tomlin into the bleachers in left-center.
In between, Eflin made quick work of the Braves. Six days holding the Braves to three runs in 5 1/3 innings, the right-hander was in complete command.
Eflin struck out Matt Adams on a curveball in the dirt to strand a runner in the second inning. He froze dangerous Marcell Ozuna with a curveball in the fourth and won an eight-pitch duel with Austin Riley in the fifth by setting him up with sinkers and striking him out on a curveball.
The Braves finally broke through with Johan Camargo's solo homer in the sixth inning. But it took a 37-minute rain delay to knock Eflin from the game after the seventh.
Hector Neris retired the side in the eighth inning, the second scoreless inning for the embattled former closer in as many games.
And after Workman put two runners on base in the ninth, Ozuna flew out to center field and Hoskins made a diving stab of a Nick Markakis line drive to clinch the win.
