Reds at Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies have produced a woeful six victories this month, but Tommy Joseph is giving manager Pete Mackanin a reason for hope in what has been an otherwise dreary May. The Phillies aim to win a series for the first time in nine tries Sunday when they host the Cincinnati Reds in the rubber match of their three-game set.
Joseph delivered a solo home run in the fourth inning and a game-ending RBI single in the ninth to send Philadelphia to a 4-3 victory Saturday, notching his second game-winning hit in three days after his 11th-inning run-scoring single Thursday versus Colorado stopped a five-game slide. "Right now, (Joseph) looks like the hitter I was hoping he would be. If he continues this, he's going to have a heck of good year and help us win a lot of games," Mackanin told reporters. Although they aren't struggling in May quite like their opponent, the Reds have only won four of their last 14 contests overall and struggle more at Citizens Bank Park than any other venue, going 0-9-1 in their last 10 series in Philadelphia. Zack Cozart went 4-for-4 on Saturday to extend his hitting streak to 10 games and increase his batting average to .355 - third-best in the National League.
TV: 1:35 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cincinnati), CSN Philadelphia
PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Scott Feldman (3-4, 3.99 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Zach Eflin (0-2, 5.36)
Feldman was sharp en route to a victory Monday against Cleveland, surrendering only a solo homer among the four hits he allowed while striking out a season-high nine over six innings. May has been a mixed bag for the Hawaii native, who has three outings in which he is a combined 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA and two others in which he is 0-2 with a 16.22 ERA. Feldman's only career start versus the Phillies was a loss on Opening Day, when he was tagged for three runs in 4 2/3 frames.
Eflin's nightmarish month continued to get worse in Tuesday's setback against Colorado, as he was pounded for three homers, a season-high eight runs and 10 hits across six innings. Since posting a 1.89 ERA in three no-decisions last month, the 23-year-old is 0-2 with an 8.22 ERA in May and has given up 15 runs and 21 hits spanning 10 innings over his last two outings. Opponents are hitting .411 off Eflin this month as he faces the Reds for the first time in his career.
WALK-OFFS
1. Joseph, who is the first Phillie to have two walk-off hits in three days since Juan Samuel in 1985, is batting .318 with four homers and nine RBIs in Philadelphia's six wins this month.
2. Cincinnati is 16-31 at Citizens Bank Park since the venue opened in 2004.
3. Philadelphia four-run output Saturday snapped a six-game streak in which had scored two or fewer runs, allowing it to avoid matching its longest such stretch of offensive futility since 1999.