The Philadelphia Phillies are struggling right now. They just lost a heart breaking game to the San Diego Padres where Aaron Nola was perfect through six innings. The offense continues to struggle, and they are hoping that any day now, Rhys Hoskins will return from injury and help right the ship as they enter the final stretch of the regular season. The Phillies are also hoping that Zach Eflin will return to the rotation sometime within the next week.

Zach Eflin allowed one hit and no runs in just over two innings of work yesterday during his first rehab assignment with the Reading Fightin’ Phils. He threw 31 total pitches (21 strikes) and struck out three. Eflin has not pitched with the Phillies since he was placed on the 10-Day injured list on July 16th with patellar tendinitis. The Phillies are hoping he will return to their rotation as early as next week.

Eflin will probably need a few more rehab stints before rejoining the Phillies to get back in pitching shape. I can’t wait for Eflin to get back to the major league level so we can finally witness what will likely be the best rotation the Phillies will be able to offer in years.

• Zack Wheeler
• Aaron Nola
• Zach Eflin
• Kyle Gibson
• Ranger Suarez

The Phillies, of course, need to stay within reach of a playoff appearance until then. They are currently five games back of the National League East leading Atlanta Braves and five games back of the Wild Card spot held by the San Diego Padres. The Braves have won eight in a row and are in the midst of beating up a really bad Orioles team that has love 17 straight games. Their schedule, however, does not get easier than what it has been over the last week, with games against the Yankees, Giants, and Dodgers coming this week. From there, the Braves will play 17 of 20 against the Marlins, Nationals, Diamondbacks, and Rockies.

Yikes.

Rhys Hoskins should return any day now. He has been running bases and fielding ground balls while traveling with the team in Arizona. 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 August 13th to speed up the recovery process and hopes to be available as soon as today against the Padres.

Mandatory Credit: MLB.com