WASHINGTON -- Odubel Herrera gave his manager a little scare when he hobbled off the field after legging out a ground ball in the top of the ninth inning Sunday.
Herrera got back to the dugout and disappeared down the tunnel with a member of the Phillies' athletic training staff.
Uh-oh.
After the game, reporters expected to hear manager Pete Mackanin say that Herrera had tweaked something. But that was not the case.
"He said he was fine," Mackanin said. "He said he just needed to stretch. He was going to stay in the game, but I decided against it."
Herrera is expected to start Tuesday night in New York.
Philadelphia Phillies
Complete coverage of the Fightin' Phils and their MLB rivals from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Herrera did not start for the first time this season on Sunday. It was just a normal day off and the timing was good with Washington lefty Gio Gonzalez on the mound and Phillies reserve outfielder Aaron Altherr in need of at-bats.
The righty-hitting Altherr started in center field in place of Herrera and led off the bottom of the ninth with a huge double in a tie game. Herrera then pinch-hit and moved Altherr to third on a soft grounder in front of the plate. Altherr scored the go-ahead run on a fielder's choice by Freddy Galvis. The lead was short-lived as Bryce Harper won it for Washington with a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth (see Instant Replay).
Eflin gets the call
The Phillies will bring up 23-year-old righty Zach Eflin to pitch against the Mets on Tuesday night. He will take the place of injured Clay Buchholz.
Buchholz was bounced from his second start as a Phillie with a strained flexor-pronator mass last week. He will get a second opinion from orthopedist James Andrews on Monday. The expectation is that Buchholz will miss an extended period of time.
Eflin was one of the first additions to the Phillies when the team started its rebuild after the 2014 season. He was acquired from the Dodgers in the trade for Jimmy Rollins in December 2014.
Eflin had double knee surgery to address tendinitis issues in the fall. He remarked several times in spring training that he felt like he was pitching with new legs.
"Night and day," he said.
He believes the added leg strength will help him.
The Phillies gave Eflin a little extra time to get going this spring. He opened the season with two five-inning starts in the minors, one in Single A Clearwater and one in Triple A Lehigh Valley. He did not allow a run in either. He struck out 10 and walked three.
The Phils have several pitchers on the 40-man roster at Triple A. They chose Eflin because, "after what he did last year, and he's healthy, he's the guy we want," Mackanin said.
