After finishing a nine game home stand by losing 4-of-6 games to the Dodgers and Reds, the Phillies will have a day off today before heading west to play the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres. The Phillies are hoping to get some key players back that have been out with injuries to get back on track away from home. 

Zach Eflin will be traveling with the Phillies, but is not quite ready to begin a rehab assignment. Eflin threw 28 pitches to hitters yesterday, which is definitely a step in the right direction for the Phillies number three man in the rotation. Eflin has been out for nearly a month with right knee tendinitis. 

Phillies’ now dugout hype man Rhys Hoskins will also travel with the team. He is eligible to come off the 10-Day Injured list tomorrow, but will likely need more time before rejoining the Phillies lineup. Hoskins is batting .244 with 24 homers, 68 RBIs and an .841 OPS this season. He was hitting .329 with a 1.195 OPS in 25 games since July 3 before going on the IL. Hoskins received a cortisone injection on Friday to speed up the recovery process and hopes to be available this week. 

Vincent Velasquez is slated to pitch in a minor-league rehab assignment on Tuesday night in Clearwater. Sam Coonrod was activated yesterday after dealing with a nagging forearm strain. He has been pitching in the minor leagues as well and hopes to be activated as soon as next week when he is eligible to return. Chase Anderson, who was out with sore triceps, was activated from the injured list over the weekend. In a corresponding move, Adonis Medina was sent back to Triple A Lehigh Valley. 

The Phillies are now one game back from first place to the National League East leading Atlanta Braves. The Diamondbacks are one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball with a record of 38-81. The Phillies desperately need to use this series to their advantage and gain momentum before heading to San Diego to play the Padres. 

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