PHILADELPHIA (AP) — For once http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-max-muncy-jersey , the Philadelphia Phillies relied on strong pitching to win a game.Rhys Hoskins hit a two-run homer , Zach Eflin threw seven sharp innings and the Phillies beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1 Sunday.f our team,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. “We proved we didn’t need to see a lot of pitches and score a lot of runs with our potent offense.”Eflin (2-0) allowed a leadoff homer to Max Kepler and five singles, striking out five.“It was nice to squeak out seven,” Eflin said. “The action on my sinker and change-up were working. I didn’t have my best slider.”Jose Berrios (1-1) gave up only an infield hit before Hoskins connected. He had seven strikeouts in six innings.Bryce Harper was 0 for 2 with two walks and stole a base. Phillies left fielder Andrew McCutchen made a perfect one-hop throw to the plate to prevent Marwin Gonzalez from scoring on Ehire Adrianza’s single in the third.David Robertson got two outs in the eighth and Adam Morgan finished the inning. Hector Neris tossed a perfect ninth for his first save since last Sept. 18 against the Mets.“Hector was spectacular,” Kapler said.Neris was Philadelphia’s closer until he got demoted to the minors after struggling last season. He pitched well after returning to the majors and is part of a closer-by-committee bullpen.“I just come in and try to do my job whether it’s the ninth, eighth, sixth inning,” Neris said.Kepler gave the Twins a 1-0 lead when he drove a fastball into the seats in right-center for his first career leadoff homer. He went deep in each game of the series.Hoskins fouled off three straight 3-2 pitches in the sixth before launching his third homer into the flower bed just over the left-center field wall.“I missed a few pitches previously,” he said. “I was able to get barrel to the ball and got enough of it to get it out.”Berrios’ pitch was in a good spot, down and away.“Jose made a nice pitch,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He’s a good hitter and he put it over the fence. Jose threw the ball really well.”After averaging 8.2 runs in their first six games, the Phillies have only scored four in the last two.SERIES WINThe Phillies took two of three to improve to 6-2. They are 2-0-1 in the first three series, their best start since 2011.CUTCH APPRECIATIONMcCutchen received a loud ovation after throwing a runner out. He got another one when he took advantage of Minnesota’s shift and went first to third on Harper’s groundout in the sixth.YARD WORKAfter hitting just one home run in the first five games http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-max-muncy-jersey , the Twins had six in the series.CRUZ HITSTwins designated hitter Nelson Cruz made his first appearance in the series as a pinch-hitter with two outs in the ninth.Cruz, who only played four games in right field for Seattle last year, struck out swinging at an 88 mph splitter.TRAINER’S ROOMTwins: RHP Matt Magill (right shoulder tendinitis) and LHP Gabriel Moya (left shoulder tendinitis) are throwing bullpen sessions in extended spring in Florida.Phillies: OF Roman Quinn (right oblique strain) was 3 for 3 with a homer in his second rehab game at Single-A Clearwater on Saturday.UP NEXTTwins: After a day off Monday, RHP Kyle Gibson (0-0, 9.64 ERA) starts Tuesday night at New York in another interleague series. RHP Jacob deGrom (2-0, 0.00) takes the mound for the Mets.Phillies: RHP Vince Velasquez makes his first start this season in the opener of a three-game series against the Nationals on Monday night. RHP Anibal Sanchez (0-0, 9.00 ERA) goes for Washington. Both teams enter this series on losing streaks"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Angels PregameAngels PostgameGamethreadsHalos Heaven PodcastsShohei OhtaniMinor LeaguesInterviewsPregameSeries Preview: Mariners @ Angels (Losers club) New,30commentsBoth teams enter this series on losing streaksPDTShareTweetShareShareSeries Preview: Mariners @ Angels (Losers club) Jerome Miron-USA TODAY SportsThe Mariners started of the year as one of the hottest teams in baseball, and they hit home runs in 20 straight games in the process. However, that hot streak ended as the Mariners slide into this series sporting a 5 game losing streak. Over their last 10 games, the Angels are 6-4 while the Mariners are 4-6.Of course these two teams already met for a mini series up in Seattle, and the Angels dropped both those games. Both of these teams come into this series on losing streaks, so something needs to give. The Mariners are also throwing two lefties against the Angels which doesn’t bode well. The Angels, who had the worst batting average against lefties in 2018 Kenta Maeda Jersey , did nothing to improve that this past off-season. Once again, they sit at the bottom of baseball with a mere .160 average against southpaws, so don’t get your hopes up too high in games 2 and 3.Know your foe:Mariners - who’s hot (last 7 days):Tom Murphy.364 AVG, 1 home runDomingo Santana.321 AVG, 5 RBI, 2 walksMitch Haniger.308 AVG, 2 home runs, 5 RBICory Gearrin4 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1 hit, 1 walk, 5 KsWeather ForecastGAME 1 Pitcher vs. BattersNotable StatsAngels Summary:So, Chris Stratton is still a thing. I mean, he hasn’t been terrible his last two starts Matt Kemp Jersey , allowing only 2 runs in each of them. Only problem is he lasted 4 innings and 4.2 innings so he’s not exactly the picture of length. The Mariners scored 4 runs off 7 hits when they saw him on April 1st. It was not a joke.Pitch Data:Mariners Summary:If his last start is to be believed, Felix Hernandez may be back to owning the Angels. He also found a way for Mike Trout to not dominate him and it started with a hit by pitch. If he does that again this game, that bench better clear.Pitch Data:GAME 2Pitcher vs. BattersNotable StatsAngels Summary:Felix Pena hasn’t faced the Mariners yet his year and you may not want to look at his starts last year (might be too late). Over his last two starts, Pena has allow 1 ER on 7 hits in 8.2 innings. Like many of the other starters, he’s been getting a quick hook this season.Pitch Data:Mariners Summary:Marco Gonzales is a lefty and that’s probably all you need to know in this matchup (Sorry Felix Pena). What else? Oh he’s been good this year and already has 0.9 bWAR. He also dominated the Angels already this year with 1 run allowed on 4 hits over 8.1 innings.Pitch Data:GAME 3Pitcher vs. BattersNotable StatsAngels Summary:Up until his last start, Trevor Cahill had been a consistent pitcher - in a good way. But Angelitis bit him earlier in the week and the Rangers knocked him around for 4 runs and 5 hits over 4 innings. He was solid against the Mariners on April 2nd, giving up just 1 run on 3 hits.Pitch Data:Mariners Summary:It’s time to see Yusei Kikuchi first hand, and it’s a shame it will probably be on the losing end of this on. Kikuchi is a lefty so.... you know the drill. Kikuchi has been just alright in 2019 with a 4.23 ERA and 5 home runs allowed in 27.2 innings.Pitch Data:GAME 4Pitcher vs. BattersNotable StatsAngels Summary:Given the ability for Angels pitchers to get hurt, Jaime Barria may be around a while. His 2019 is not off to a great start with 5 runs allowed in 7.2 innings. He was decent but prone to the long ball against the Mariners in 2018.Pitch Data:Mariners Summary:Mike Leake might present the best chance for an Angels victory in this series unless they pull off some magic in the first 3 games. He’s been solid though, allowing only 2 runs in 3 of his 4 starts this year and tossing around 6 innings in each of them.Pitch Data:Overall Verdict: You want the good news or bad news? Given there are two lefties plus Felix Hernandez is this one, I’d say an Angels series victory is a long shot. It’s not impossible toimagine them getting swept so hopefully they can pick up at least one victory in this set.Current Standings (sorted by playoff odds)Notes/Credits:(Pitch tracking data from baseballsavant.mlb.com)(Last 5 year splits from FanGraphs Splits Tool)(Standings/odds from fivethirtyeight.com)