Phillies' lefty Irvin set for debut at Royals
The Philadelphia Phillies began their trek through the "Show Me State" with a lackluster performance, only to respond with a pair of dominating efforts against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Phillies would like to see recent history repeat itself on Sunday when they play the rubber match of their three-game set against the host Kansas City Royals.
After losing the series opener 5-1, Philadelphia received a stellar pitching performance on Saturday, as Zach Eflin recorded his second complete game in three outings in a 7-0 victory over the Royals. It was his second career shutout.
The win was the ninth in 13 games for the Phillies, who are expected to call up left-hander Cole Irvin from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make his major league debut in the series finale.
Irvin was the International League Pitcher of the Year in 2018 and owns a 16-4 mark with a 2.51 ERA since the start of last season with the IronPigs. He is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA in six starts in 2019.
"We're really excited to give him this opportunity. He's really earned it," Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said of the 25-year-old Irvin. "He's not a dominator. He's a guy whose game is forcing the opposition to put the ball in play and get weak contact."
Irvin will take the roster spot of right-hander Vince Velasquez, who was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a right forearm strain.
"Every time we have somebody come up and make a start, it's an opportunity to make a statement," Kapler said. "It's an opportunity to create another opportunity. Yeah, there's a lot of competition right now."
Odubel Herrera is slowly working his way out of a pronounced slump, as he collected a double and triple on Saturday to give him five extra-base hits, four RBI and four runs scored in his past four games.
While the Phillies are trying to pad their lead atop the National League East, the Royals are bidding to win a series for the first time since they swept three games against Cleveland from April 12-14.
Kansas City will turn to right-hander Jakob Junis (3-3, 5.52 ERA), who allowed five runs for the third time in five outings to take the loss in Monday's 6-4 setback at Houston.
Junis surrendered three homers and a season-high nine hits in 5 1/3 innings against the Astros. The 26-year-old has not faced Philadelphia in his career.
Kansas City's Hunter Dozier has cooled after seeing his batting average elevate to .348 on Monday, going just 1-for-11 with five strikeouts in his past three games.
Despite the recent dip, Royals general manager Dayton Moore said he is pleased with what Dozier has brought to the table.
"Our offense can beat you in a lot of ways," Moore said. "We can beat you with speed. We can beat you with power. ... Certainly, what Hunter Dozier has done the first 40 games, this last month, has been really good. His (pitch) selection has been outstanding."
--Field Level Media
