Phils' Eickhoff rolling after rocky start to season

THE UMPIRE hesitated. Then he twisted his hips and unleashed an animated one-two punch indicating Strike 3, the sixth inning over. Jerad Eickhoff walked off the mound, his head tilted downward, his gaze straight ahead.

Monday afternoon, the righthander was all business.

Eickhoff, who has at numerous times this season has struggled to keep his hit count down, dominated the visiting Braves' hapless offense for the better part of the Phillies' 8-2 win Monday.

He allowed one hit in the top of the first inning, a line-drive home run to rightfield by Erick Aybar, and then shut things down until the seventh inning, going five innings without allowing a hit.

In the end, Eickhoff scattered five hits across 7 2/3 innings, with eight strikeouts and three walks.

His catcher appreciated the way Eickhoff controlled the game.

"It seemed like we were on defense for 10 minutes," Cameron Rupp said with a laugh. "We scored seven runs, eight runs, and those are usually your 3-hour, 20-minute games."

Rupp glanced at the clock in the Phillies' clubhouse.

"It's not even 7 o'clock yet," he said after the 2-hour, 28-minute game that started at 4:05 p.m. "It was outstanding. He pounded the strike zone from the first pitch of the game, and that was huge for us."

Eickhoff allowed two singles to start the seventh inning, and his tidy afternoon looked in jeopardy. But two popups and a groundout got him out of trouble.

When he marched back on to the field to start the eighth inning, Eickhoff became the first Phillies starter to go more than seven innings this season since Vince Velasquez's 16-strikeout performance April 14.

It wasn't all gold; a Freddie Freeman double in the top of the eighth followed by a Nick Markakis single scored the Braves' second run, and ended Eickhoff's afternoon.

As he left the mound with an 8-2 lead, the denizens of Citizens Bank Park stood and applauded. The 26-year-old is now 4-1 in his last six starts (6-9 overall), a far cry from when he began the season with six losses in his first eight starts. Since the beginning of June, his ERA is 2.25.

While the Braves' offense doesn't pose much of a challenge - Atlanta has scored the fewest runs in the the major leagues - Eickhoff has also faced the daunting offenses of the Cubs and Blue Jays during this recent hot streak, and he's come away no worse for the encounters.

It's been quite a turnaround. After the game, he said he's feeling good right now, both mechanically and mentally. He doesn't want to change anything.

Since that 1-6 start in his first eight outings, Eickhoff said, he has been able to expand his repertoire beyond a fastball and a curveball, and he is feeling a lot better with the way he's been throwing lately.

"I think it's just been me getting that feel back, getting that timing in my delivery, getting that arm slot and getting those other pitches going," he said. "That was the biggest thing; I was kind of a two-pitch pitcher early on, and I've been able to develop as the season's progressed."

Manager Pete Mackanin has liked Eickhoff's body language, and the way his pitcher has been able to turn a few good outings into a renewed confidence.

It would have been easy to chalk this season up to the dogs after such a rough first month-plus. Instead, Eickhoff is now rolling.

"He's a bulldog," Mackanin said. "The guy goes out there to win, he works extremely hard to stay in shape, and pays attention, and he's just got a great demeanor on the mound. For a guy that's (1-6) to start off the season, not necessarily pitching very well early, he's come on like gangbusters and he's just been outstanding."