Off-Topic » The left-hander has pitched brilliantly in hi

Zach Eflin and the Phillies are on a roll.

Eflin pitched seven strong innings for his sixth straight victory Richard Panik Jersey , Andrew Knapp had the winning hit for the second straight game and Philadelphia beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 on Tuesday night for its 11th win in 16 games.

Rhys Hoskins had a two-run double, rookie Seranthony Dominguez pitched four outs for his eighth save and Maikel Franco made a game-saving defensive play for the Phillies, who pulled within 2 1/2 games of the Braves for first place in the NL East.

”It was a great team win,” Eflin said.

Eflin (7-2) allowed two runs and five hits with six strikeouts and no walks to become the first Phillies pitcher since Cliff Lee in 2011 to record six consecutive wins. The right-hander has a 1.91 ERA while striking out 34 and walking six in 37 2/3 innings over that stretch.

”More aggressive and trusting my pitches,” Eflin said.

The Phillies bullpen preserved the win, but it got interesting.

Tommy Hunter got the first two outs of the eighth before manager Gabe Kapler went to Dominguez with Orioles star Manny Machado up.

”One of the best hitters in the game, you try to neutralize him with your best bullet,” Kapler said.

Dominguez walked Machado and Mark Trumbo to load the bases for Chris Davis. Franco made a stellar diving play to his right at third base to snare Davis’ ground ball before throwing him out at first to keep the Phillies ahead 3-2. The out was upheld after an Orioles challenge.

”Play of the game,” Kapler said. ”Got us the win.”

Franco, who has been in and out of the lineup this season, cherished the out.

”I just tried to make a good play and make a good throw,” he said. ”I wanted that play so bad.”

Trumbo homered for Baltimore, which has dropped eight of nine.

”The effort was there,” Trumbo said. ”The frustration, it’s as much as you make of it.”

The game was delayed 1 hour, 25 minutes due to rain and played mostly under a persistent drizzle.

Philadelphia took a one-run lead in the fourth on Knapp’s two-out triple to right off Alex Cobb (2-10) that scored Nick Williams. Knapp, Philadelphia’s backup catcher, started two days after his game-ending homer in the 13th lifted the Phillies over the Nationals 4-3.

Cobb gave up three runs on four hits with five strikeouts and three walks in 6 2/3 innings.

Trumbo staked Baltimore to a 1-0 lead by crushing Eflin’s 94 mph fastball into the seats in left in the second.

Philadelphia went in front 2-1 in the third on Hoskins’ two-out double off the wall in left that scored Franco and Cesar Hernandez.

CHEERS FOR MANNY

Machado, speculated to be a target of the Phillies either via trade or free agency, was loudly cheered when he was introduced by PA announcer Dan Baker prior to the contest.

EFLIN’S BLISTER

Eflin was pulled after just 82 pitches, and Kapler said that was partly because of a blister on Eflin’s right middle finger. Eflin said he was ready and able to continue if asked. Eflin was hampered consistently by blisters last season, but Tuesday was his first time dealing with one this year.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Orioles: OF Colby Rasmus has been placed on the restricted list after informing the club that he was leaving the team. Rasmus has struggled with a left hip injury for two seasons. He was hitting .133 with one homer in 18 games this season after signing a one-year, $3 million deal in the offseason. … INF Steve Wilkerson (left oblique) was placed on the 10-day DL. Wilkerson, who is 4 for 17 since making his debut June 20 Shane Doan Jersey , was injured in Sunday’s 8-2 win over the Angels.

Phillies: RHP Jerad Eickhoff (right lat strain) will throw live batting practice Wednesday. He has been out all season. … Reliever Edubray Ramos (right shoulder impingement), who has been on the DL since June 25, threw a bullpen Tuesday and could be activated on Friday.

UP NEXT

Baltimore rookie RHP Yefry Ramirez (0-1, 2.89) will make his second start and third appearance with the Orioles against Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (10-2, 2.48) on Wednesday afternoon.

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SAN FRANCISCO — Right-hander Jack Flaherty returns to the scene of his major league debut last September when he closes out a four-game series for the St. Louis Cardinals against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday afternoon.

Flaherty (3-4, 3.19 ERA) will attempt not only to give the Cardinals a 3-1 win in the four-game series but to reward manager Mike Matheny with his fifth series win in seven return visits to San Francisco, where he played the final two years of his career.

Matheny has never lost a series as a manager in San Francisco, winning four and tying the other two. He is assured of at least a tie in this one as well, with the Cardinals having posted 11-2 and 3-2 wins sandwiching a 3-2 loss on Friday night.

Flaherty was just 21 years old when he debuted for the Cardinals last Sept. 1 in an 11-6 win in San Francisco.

He did not get credit for the win, going only four innings, during which he was roughed up for five runs and eight hits. He’s thus 0-0 with an 11.25 ERA against the Giants.

Brandon Crawford doubled and homered against Flaherty, and Hunter Pence lashed a two-run triple.

The California native will be seeking to snap a two-game losing streak. He has allowed eight runs and 10 hits in 10 innings in losses to Cleveland and Arizona.

Flaherty will be backed by a Cardinals defense that has been superb against the Giants, having committed just one error in the three games. That lone miscue was an errant throw by backup catcher Francisco Pena on a steal attempt.

“That’s kind of the initiative we have going on right now: bolstering our defense,” Matheny noted Saturday. “Let’s play a cleaner defensive game. And then hope that we get contributions offensively. Let’s figure out ways to make sure we’re catching the ball to help reinforce the great starts that we’ve been getting.”

Luke Weaver, John Gant and Carlos Martinez have provided that pitching in San Francisco. The Giants have totaled just seven runs in the series, extending to six games their streak of scoring three or fewer.

Martinez even contributed an RBI double to Saturday’s win.

The Giants have hit a cumulative .167 in their last six games, five of which they’ve lost.

San Francisco will be counting on ace Madison Bumgarner (1-3, 2.58) to contribute both on the mound and at the plate in the series finale.

The Giants have supported their pitching leader with just 14 runs in his six starts. He hasn’t helped his own cause; the slugger with 17 career homers has gone 0-for-14 so far this season.

The left-hander has pitched brilliantly in his last three starts, allowing just three runs (two of which were earned) and 12 hits in 21 innings.

Bumgarner often has not been at his best against the Cardinals in his career, going 3-5 with a 4.38 ERA in eight starts. He hasn’t beaten St. Louis since 2014.

One player who has never figured out Bumgarner is Kolten Wong, who has been the big hitter in the series with six hits, including a double and a triple, and two RBIs.

He’s 0-for-9 with two strikeouts in his career against Bumgarner.