After 7 straight wins, Phillies (not Trout) main attraction at CBP this weekend

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MILWAUKEE – It’s been a whole new ballgame for the Phillies this past week. They have won seven in a row. They have outscored opponents 53-19 and slugged 18 homers in that span. They’re back to a game under .500. There is hope. And there are six home games on the docket, starting Friday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“I’m hoping it will be electric,” Zach Eflin said of Citizens Bank Park. “I’m looking forward to getting home and playing in front of our fans. There’s no place in the league like it. We’re pumped. We’re playing good. Hopefully the fans can show some love and come out to CBP.

“We’re playing better. It feels like there’s a spark in the clubhouse. We’re having fun, enjoying being around each other. Everything is clicking and we need to take it and ride with it. There’s a sense that everybody in this clubhouse has everybody else’s back and it’s a really fun thing to be part of.”

Eflin’s teammates had his back Thursday. He didn’t get past the fourth inning but the Phils still went on to an 8-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers to complete a three-game sweep.

“The boys did a great job picking me up,” Eflin said. “The bullpen was awesome, picking up five innings.

“It’s never fun going just four innings but winning the baseball game makes it a lot easier.

“Our offense looks like a video game. There are no breaks in the lineup, one through nine. It’s a special group of guys. When they’re on, they’re on.”

The Phils’ sweep of the Brewers was preceded by a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels at home last weekend. All of the wins have come under new skipper Rob Thomson, who is 6-0 since taking over for Joe Girardi.

The Phils were seven games under .500 when Girardi was fired. They have made up significant ground under Thomson and the schedule is favorable for more gains. The next 13 games are against teams with losing records – Arizona, Miami, Washington and Texas.

“You’ve got to be careful with those games,” Thomson warned. “You can’t take these teams lightly. They’re big-league clubs so we’ve got to come out and play the same way, with the same intensity, the same fun and get after them and do what we’ve been doing.”

Bryce Harper concurred.

“They’re still major league baseball teams,” he said. “We can’t overlook anybody we play. We have to continue to grind at-bats as a team and keep going. Play the game the right way, don’t overlook anyone. One game, one series at a time.”

Harper said the vibe around the team has been different the last week.

“It helps that we’re winning,” he said. “Everybody is happy. When you win and play good baseball – it’s fun to win, it’s not fun to lose. I think it helps the city, the organization, the fan base, the guys in here when you’re confident in your ability, so let’s just keep winning games.”

Six in a row at home against Arizona and Miami.

The boys of winter have packed away the basketballs and pucks. Eagles camp doesn’t start for about six weeks. A week ago, the Phillies looked like a dead team, now they’re the talk of the town.

Citizens Bank Park should be buzzing Friday night.

“I thought it was this past weekend when we played the Angels,” Harper said. “I wasn’t sure if it was because Mike Trout was there and Shoei (Ohtani) and the Angels, no disrespect or anything.

“Seeing The Bank like that is so much fun, but we have to win. Everybody knows that. You win games, they’re going to show up. You don’t, they’re not going to show up. I don’t blame them. I probably wouldn’t be there.

“We’ve got to keep going, keep playing. I think (the fans) have done a great job this year getting to the ballpark. They expect us to win, they expect us to show out each night and I love that. It’s the best thing about Philly. When we win, we have the best fans in baseball and they’ll let you know.”

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