For all the numbers-crunching and the metrics and the math, the winning formula has been rather elementary lately for the Phillies. Day after day, week after week, they have given the ball to a starting pitcher who, in turn, has thrown it really, really effectively.
Simple, right?
Phillies starters have allowed no more than one run in 14 games this month, the rotation’s best run since September 2011. Not coincidentally, the Phils are as close to sole possession of first place as they have been since the end of that 2011 season.
It was striking, then, to see righthander Zach Eflin throw such a stinker Friday night.