DENVER – Cameron Rupp’s 465-foot home run was the team’s longest in five years until Maikel Franco one-upped his teammate with a 471-foot shot an inning later.
Not a big deal, says Rupp. He’s just happy it meant another win for the surging Philadelphia Phillies.
Rupp and Franco provided most of the pop, Zach Eflin got his second big league win and the Phillies beat the Colorado Rockies 10-3 on Sunday in their final game before the All-Star break.
Rupp’s two-run homer in the seventh inning was the longest by a Phillies player since Ryan Howard hit a 470-foot shot on May 13, 2011. Franco’s three-run shot in the eighth was the longest since Howard’s 473-foot blast on September 18, 2009.
Rupp’s home run is tied for ninth in the majors this season, per Statcast. Franco’s is fourth.
“They all count the same,” said Rupp, who tied a career high with four RBIs. “They were both good ones.”
Philadelphia has won 10 of 13 games.
Eflin (2-2) allowed two runs in six innings. He gave up seven hits, struck out three and walked two in his follow-up to a complete-game win against the Braves on Tuesday. Since allowing nine runs in his debut, Eflin has a 2.20 ERA in five starts.
“This Rockies team is a darn good hitting team, especially in Denver, and he handled them pretty well,” Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. “I was very pleased.”
Philadelphia had five consecutive batters reach base and scored three runs with two outs in the third off starter Tyler Chatwood (8-5). Freddy Galvis and Franco singled and Tommy Joseph walked to load the bases. Cody Asche followed with a two-run single and Rupp added his first RBI single of the day to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead.
Rupp’s second RBI was a single to center field off Chatwood to push the lead to 4-1 in the fifth. His third and fourth came off slumping reliever Jake McGee in the seventh.
Galvis’ RBI single and Franco’s home run extended the lead to 10-2 in the eighth.
Carlos Gonzalez homered, Nick Hundley hit a pair of doubles and Brandon Barnes tripled for Colorado. The Rockies have lost nine of 12.
“They just beat us,” Hundley said. “They flat out played better than we did.”
Trevor Story, who remained tied for the NL rookie record for most home runs before the All-Star break at 21, scored on Hundley’s second double of the day in the sixth to trim the lead to 4-2 before the Phillies rallied for the next six runs.
Gonzalez hit his 19th home run of the season in the eighth.
Chatwood allowed four runs and needed 93 pitches to get through five innings. He walked three and struck out two in his first loss since coming off the disabled list with a mid-back strain July 5.
