Eflin did not factor into the decision Wednesday, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk over six innings against the Cubs. He struck out five.
Eflin settled down after allowing two runs in the first inning, blanking the Cubs over his subsequent five frames before surrendering a leadoff double to Seiya Suzuki in the seventh. It's the third consecutive quality start for Eflin, who's pitched at least six innings in his last six outings. He's 7-1 with a 3.30 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 57:8 K:BB through 10 starts (60 innings) this season.
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Rays' Zach Eflin: Picks up seventh win
Rotowire
Eflin (7-1) earned the win Thursday, allowing one run on six hits and two walks over seven innings in a 6-3 victory over the Blue Jays.
Eflin didn't record a strikeout Thursday, but he was able to induce 13 groundouts, holding Toronto to just one run in the victory. Eflin has now won three consecutive outings while recording seven innings in his last two starts. The 29-year-old right-hander lowered his ERA to 3.17 with a 1.02 WHIP and an excellent 52:7 K:BB through nine starts (54 innings) in his first season with Tampa.
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Rays' Zach Eflin: Claims quality start
Rotowire
Eflin (6-1) earned the win Saturday, allowing three runs on four hits over seven innings against Milwaukee. He struck out eight.
Outside of a pair of homers dished out to Owen Miller and Brian Anderson, Eflin was exceptional Saturday, fanning eight and pitching into the seventh frame for just the second time in 2023. Though the 29-year-old has had troubles with the long ball (1.5 HR/9), he has made up for it with strong strikeout numbers (9.96 K/9) while earning six wins, which is the second-most in MLB. Eflin is in line to face one of MLB's most powerful offenses in his next start, taking on the Blue Jays at Tropicana Field.
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Rays' Zach Eflin: Earns fifth win
Rotowire
Eflin (5-1) earned the win Sunday, allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk over six innings against the Yankees. He struck out nine.
Eflin was charged with four runs in the third inning on a pair of two-run homers from Oswaldo Cabrera and Anthony Rizzo. However, Eflin would eventually earn the win after the Rays scored five runs in the fifth and hung on for an 8-7 victory. The 29-year-old right-hander has now surrendered eight runs in his last two outings after allowing just seven runs in his first five starts this season. Eflin still sports a solid 3.38 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 44:5 K:BB through 40 innings on the campaign.
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Rays' Zach Eflin: Falls to Baltimore
Rotowire
Eflin (4-1) took the loss Tuesday, allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk over six innings against the Orioles. He struck out four.
Baltimore tallied three runs against Eflin in the third inning and another in the fourth, handing the 29-year-old right-hander his first loss of the season. It's also the first time Eflin has allowed more than three runs in a start this season. He still has a solid 2.91 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 35:4 K:BB through six starts (34 innings) in his first season with Tampa Bay. Eflin will look to get back in the win column in his next outing, tentatively lined up for next week against the Yankees.
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Rays' Zach Eflin: Spins seven scoreless innings
Rotowire
Eflin (4-0) earned the win Thursday, allowing three hits over seven scoreless innings against the Pirates. He struck out 10.
Eflin improved on his impressive start to 2023, picking up his fourth win in five starts and blanking the Pirates. The 29-year-old went over six innings for the first time in this year and set a season high with 10 punchouts. Through 28.0 innings, Eflin holds a 2.25 ERA with a 31:3 K/BB. Though his strong start to 2023 has been unexpected given his 4.40 career ERA, it wouldn't be surprising for Eflin's success to continue considering the Rays' knack for getting the best out of pitchers.
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Rays' Zach Eflin: No-decision in rematch with ChiSox
Rotowire
Eflin didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 3-2 win over the White Sox, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out five.
Facing Chicago for the second straight outing, Eflin served up solo homers to Andrew Vaughn in the first inning and Jake Burger in the second but otherwise was sharp, tossing 47 of 74 pitches for strikes before exiting with the score tied 2-2. Eflin has had an impressive beginning to his Rays tenure despite missing a couple turns in the rotation due to back trouble, posting a 3.00 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 21:3 K:BB through 21 innings. He'll look to run his record to 4-0 in his next start, likely to come next week in a home series against the Pirates.
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Rays' Zach Eflin: Handles White Sox in return Sunday
Rotowire
Eflin (3-0) got the win Sunday over the White Sox after allowing one run on three hits and no walks over five innings. He struck out four.
Eflin returned to the mound Sunday for the first time in just over two weeks and pitched very effectively for his third win in as many tries. The White Sox got to him in the fourth with two doubles, but he otherwise felt little pressure throughout the day. Eflin has managed to top 80 pitches just once so far, as manager Kevin Cash seems to be erring on the side of caution with Eflin's pitch count early on in the season. Nonetheless, the 29-year-old has been a successful addition to the rotation thus far, and heads into his next start with a 2.81 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 16:1 K:BB over 16 innings.
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Rays' Zach Eflin: Activated for Sunday's start
Rotowire
Eflin (back) was reinstated from the 15-day injured list and will start Sunday against the White Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
The 29-year-old has been sidelined the past couple weeks with lower-back tightness, but he'll end up requiring only a 15-day stint on the shelf. Eflin had a 3.27 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 12:1 K:BB in 11 frames across his first two starts prior to the injury. He could face some workload limitations in his return Sunday since he didn't make any rehab starts.
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Rays' Zach Eflin: On track to start Sunday
Rotowire
Rays manager Kevin Cash said Eflin (back) looked good in a bullpen session Monday and is on track to return from the 15-day injured list to start Sunday against the White sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Eflin was placed on the IL on April 11 due to lower-back tightness, but barring any further setbacks, he should be in line for activation when first eligible this weekend. The right-hander had pitched well before the injury, compiling a 3.27 ERA and 12:1 K:BB over 11 innings.
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Rays' Zach Eflin: Nabs second win
Rotowire
Eflin (2-0) allowed three runs on nine hits over six innings Friday, striking out six and earning a win against Oakland.
Eflin was fairly efficient, firing 60 of 82 pitches for strikes including nine whiffs, and Ryan Noda's solo shot in the third inning was the first homer he'd allowed this season. Eflin now has a strong 12:1 K:BB with a 3.27 ERA through 11 innings. He's projected to face the Red Sox at home next week.
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Rays' Zach Eflin: Sharp in Rays debut
Rotowire
Eflin (1-0) allowed one earned run on three hits and one walk while striking out five across five innings to earn the win Saturday against the Tigers.
Eflin took the mound for the first time in the regular season as a member of the Rays, and he delivered a strong performance. The lone earned run against him came in the fourth inning after he allowed a leadoff double. Otherwise, Eflin was in control and generated seven groundball outs along with 13 swinging strikes across 74 total pitches. The only downside to the outing was that the Rays pulled him early in the game, and that may not be likely to change moving forward given the team's preference to aggressively deploy its bullpen and limit its starters exposure to opposing lineups.
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Rays' Zach Eflin: Starting second game of season
Rotowire
Manager Kevin Cash confirmed Eflin will start the Rays' second game of the season Saturday versus the Tigers at Tropicana Field, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
The Rays are expected to roll out Shane McClanahan, Eflin and Jeffrey Springs as their starters for the season-opening series with Detroit, while Drew Rasmussen, Josh Fleming and McClanahan are slated to pick up starting nods in the following series in Washington next week. Eflin, who signed a three-year, $40 million deal with Tampa Bay in December, built up to 3.1 innings in his most recent Grapefruit League start March 20, so he could have some light restrictions with his pitch count in his regular-season debut.
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Rays' Zach Eflin: Building up stamina
Rotowire
Eflin threw 3.1 innings while allowing four earned runs on seven hits in Monday's Grapefruit League game against Atlanta.
It wasn't an ideal outing from Eflin, and he has now allowed six earned runs across his last 7.1 innings of work during spring training. Neither he nor manager Kevin Cash were concerned however, as Eflin faced 16 batters and noted improved durability on the mound, Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times reports. He has thrown more than 150 innings in a season only once in his career, though the Rays will be relying on him to provide consistent innings after their significant investment in him this offseason.
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Rays' Zach Eflin: Contract with Tampa Bay announced
Rotowire
Eflin's three-year, $40 million contract with the Rays was formally announced by the team Tuesday.
The surprise deal was reported at the beginning of the month and has now been made official. Eflin held a 4.04 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 65:15 K:BB ratio over 20 appearances -- 13 starts -- for the Phillies in 2022. He's battled chronic knee issues and his career numbers are rather pedestrian, but the Rays have earned the benefit of the doubt when they see something in a pitchers. It wouldn't be a surprise if they're able to coax a career year out of Eflin in 2023.
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Rays' Zach Eflin: Joins Rays
Rotowire
Eflin signed a three-year, $40 million contract with the Rays on Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Eflin declined a $15 million mutual option with the Phillies for the 2023 season to head to free agency. He's now rewarded with a long-term deal in Tampa Bay and will presumably be a significant part of their rotation plans for the length of the contract. Eflin has been limited by injuries the last two seasons, combining to maintain a 4.12 ERA with a 164:31 K:BB across 181.1 innings.
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Zach Eflin: Ticketed for free agency
Rotowire
Eflin declined his $15 million mutual option to return to Philadelphia in 2023 and became a free agent Monday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
Eflin was an effective back-end starter for the first half of the 2022 season, logging a 4.37 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 56:15 K:BB in 68 innings through his first 13 starts. He would go on to miss two and a half months in the middle of the campaign due to right patellar issue, prompting the Phillies to bring him back as a reliever when he was finally ready to return in mid-September. He excelled in that role down the stretch and even emerged as Philadelphia's preferred closing option during the postseason, but the 28-year-old right-hander will presumably explore a move back to the rotation in 2023. After handing out big contracts to outfielders Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos last winter, it's unclear if the Phillies will have room in their budget to retain Eflin, who could be in store for a multi-year deal with an annual average value north of $10 million in free agency.
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Phillies' Zach Eflin: Clinches wild card with save
Rotowire
Eflin picked up the save with a clean inning in Monday's 3-0 win over the Astros. He did not strike out a batter.
In his first career save opportunity, Eflin got the job done, retiring the Astros in order in the ninth inning and securing the Phillies' spot in the playoffs, which will be the team's first postseason appearance since 2011. Eflin has been working out of the bullpen since returning from the 60-day injured list Sept. 11, allowing just one run over 7.2 innings with nine strikeouts, one save and two holds. Eflin was less effective as a starter, albeit in a larger sample, going 3-5 with a 4.37 ERA through 68 innings before being shut down with injury.
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Phillies' Zach Eflin: Slated to return Tuesday
Rotowire
Eflin (kneecap) will be reinstated from the 60-day injured list Tuesday, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.
Eflin made a rehab appearance at Triple-A Worcester on Friday and gave up a run on a hit and no walks while striking out three in two innings. The right-hander served exclusively as a starter over 13 big-league outings to begin the year but is expected to pitch out of the bullpen once he's officially activated.
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Phillies' Zach Eflin: Ready for live work
Rotowire
Eflin (kneecap) is scheduled to throw live batting practice in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Eflin is ready to move on to the next phase of his rehab program for his right patellofemoral injury after he most recently threw 35 pitches in a bullpen session Friday. According to Matt Gelb of The Athletic, Eflin is expected to rejoin the Phillies as a reliever whenever he makes his way back from the 60-day IL, but what exact role he might hold in the bullpen is still up in the air. Gelb speculates that Eflin could be deployed as a traditional one-inning max-effort reliever, as a multi-inning option or as an opener versus righty-heavy lineups.
