Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zach Eflin has four wins in four June starts. He’ll attempt to stay perfect in the month as the Phillies try to avoid being swept by the New York Yankees.
The teams meet Wednesday night in the finale of a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
The Phillies’ bats have been quieted by the Yankees’ staff in the first two games of the set. Philadelphia
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“They beat us pretty good,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler told reporters after Tuesday night’s 6-0 loss. “We just have to wear it and get ready for (Wednesday).”
The Yankees, meanwhile, have 10 runs on 17 hits in the pair of games against the Phillies and have bounced back with two wins after getting swept by the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend.
Eflin (5-2, 3.44 ERA) will try to cool off the Yankees, who led the majors in OPS and home runs as of Tuesday.
Eflin is 4-0 in four June starts. He has a 2.28 ERA and .594 opponent OPS with 22 strikeouts and only four walks over that span (23 2/3 innings). Most recently
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“Those are situations I’ve been working on the past couple years, being able to put guys away when I need to,” Eflin, who worked around six hits in the start, told MLB.com “Being able to do that and overcome that was huge. Looking forward to continuing that and getting deeper into games.”
Eflin will face the Yankees for the first time in his career on Wednesday,
The Yankees will send Luis Cessa (0-0, 3.00) to the mound for his first start of the season. Cessa spent two months on the disabled list this season with a strained oblique
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“We have a lot of confidence in Cessa, that is the kind of role going into the season that we envisioned him in — the fifth, sixth starter and bullpen guy,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told the New York Post last week. “We feel he is built up enough and on line to be the best option that day.”
Boone noted that Cessa will be able to throw 70-80 pitches during his Wednesday start. Cessa has allowed two earned runs in six innings for the Yankees this season, and he is 2-7 with a 4.54 ERA in 14 career major league starts. He has never faced the Phillies.
Cessa could get more backing from a red-hot Giancarlo Stanton. The Yankees left fielder and 2017 National League MVP has nine hits over his last three games and is 4-for-8 so far in the series. Stanton is hitting .459 with a 1.335 OPS, three homers, four doubles and nine RBIs over his last nine contests.
The Memphis Grizzlies have decided to make J.B. Bickerstaff their next head coach
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The Grizzlies did not disclose terms Tuesday of Bickerstaff’s new deal. He will be introduced at a news conference Wednesday.
Bickerstaff was the associate head coach when Memphis fired David Fizdale in late November of his second season. Guard Mike Conley had season-ending surgery to repair his left heel and Achilles tendon, and the Grizzlies finished the season at 22-60 for the second-worst record in the NBA behind only Phoenix.
They had to win their regular season home finale to avoid the worst record since relocating to Memphis for the 2001-02 season. But they should wind up with their highest draft pick since 2009.
”J.B. did an admirable job as interim head coach last season in what was a challenging set of circumstances,” general manager Chris Wallace said in a statement. ”J.B. has connected with our players and earned their respect throughout his time in Memphis, and we have been pleased with his role in developing our young players. We are excited to see him coach with a full offseason and a healthy roster next season.”
This will be the first time Bickerstaff has been hired as head coach without an interim tag. He finished the 2015-16 season as the interim coach in Houston after Kevin McHale was fired, and he went 37-34 with the Rockets. Bickerstaff said at the end of the season that he had been discussing his future with management and wanted to return.
”I feel like we have started something,” he said. ”We have started to build a culture. You want to be part of a group that you like. I think there’s going to be a tremendous bump next year, health permitting. I would love to be a part of it.”
Conley is expected back healthy
http://www.philadelphiaeaglesteamonlines.com/markus-wheaton-jersey , and the Grizzlies still have center Marc Gasol with a handful of young players like Dillon Brooks who got plenty of playing time under Bickerstaff.
Bickerstaff also was an assistant coach with Minnesota between 2007 and 2011 and worked for his father, Bernie, with the Charlotte Bobcats between 2004 and 2007. He was director of operations for the University of Minnesota men’s basketball team after playing two seasons. He started his college career at Oregon State.
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