ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The rest of his new teammates landed in the wee hours of the morning from Toronto, but Zach Eflin was long inside his old house near Tropicana Field. He flew in early so he could get a full night’s rest, but the best perk of the earlier flight for Eflin was the chance to see his family.
Since he was traded two weeks ago from the Tampa Bay Rays to the Orioles, moments such as those have been sparse. He’s hopped between Baltimore and the road, and his family has remained in Florida, waiting for him to walk in Thursday ahead of his scheduled start Friday.
“I got to fly in a little early yesterday and hold my babies,” Eflin said. “It’s been a good while since I’ve got to see my kids, so it was just amazing to be home and be with them.”
The whole day, Eflin said, was “like an out-of-body experience.” On Friday, ahead of the Orioles’ 4-1 win against the Rays, he drove to Tropicana Field, his old home ballpark, and parked with a visitor’s pass. He said hello to stadium staffers and his teammates of two weeks ago. He then pitched one of the best games of his season.
The Rays were well aware of this potential when they traded Eflin to the Orioles ahead of last month’s trade deadline. They had seen him do it for them, inside Tropicana Field, numerous times over the last season and a half — efficiently dismantling a lineup through precision on the edge of the strike zone.
And on Friday night, with Eflin wearing a road black-and-orange Baltimore jersey rather than the home whites of old, the Rays witnessed that methodical approach against them.
Eflin, returning to Tampa Bay as one of Baltimore’s most critical pitchers for a stretch run to the postseason, delivered seven scoreless innings to begin the series on a high note.
“That’s so good right there,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “A little extra motivation pitching against a team that you were just with, and he’s made three outstanding starts for us. That was textbook pitching. He was ahead in the count, great sinker, cutter, changeup. He just really knows how to pitch, and he was locating well all night.”
The 30-year-old has shown this even-keeled nature in each of his three starts for Baltimore since arriving two weeks ago. In his debut, Eflin allowed 10 hits in six innings but gave up only three runs. He then allowed two runs in a win against the Cleveland Guardians across 6 1/3 innings.
Friday’s display was even better. He has long been one of the best in baseball at avoiding walks, but Eflin limited base hits as well. The Rays managed four hits in seven innings, with one walk and seven strikeouts. Eflin finished at 94 pitches, with a José Caballero double — Tampa Bay’s first hit since the fifth — elevating Eflin’s pitch count enough to force Baltimore to turn the game over to its bullpen.
Eflin’s seven strikeouts matched a season high, and he racked up four with his cutter. That pitch is his most heavily used, and he showed why Friday by forcing seven of his 13 whiffs with it.
But part of what makes Eflin so difficult to face is the array of offerings at his disposal. Eflin threw his cutter, sinker, curveball, changeup, sweeper and four-seam fastball — six pitches, with each used at least 10% of the time.
“It’s like a video game,” catcher James McCann said. “It’s a lot of fun. You figure out what’s working that night, and you’re able to sequence pitches. You’re able to tunnel pitches. Your options are kind of endless when it comes to knowing what his strengths are and knowing what the hitter’s weaknesses are, and kind of combining them, and finding a way to sequence them to get guys out.”
For a lineup that should know him well — Eflin pitched for the Rays since the beginning of 2023, after all — the Rays didn’t mount much of anything against him. And, to support Eflin, the Orioles gave him a lead straight away.
Colton Cowser opened the game with a home run off right-hander Zack Littell that gave the Orioles 11 leadoff blasts this season. It’s the Orioles’ second-most leadoff homers in a season behind the 12 that Brady Anderson hit by himself in 1996. Cowser, who was seen shaking his wrapped wrist after his second at-bat, has a “little nerve deal and it’s like a little stinger and it goes away,” Hyde said.
Baltimore added two more runs off Littell when Ryan O’Hearn dropped a bases-loaded, two-run single into shallow center in the fifth. And, in the sixth, Cedric Mullins lifted a solo homer.
With the way Eflin was pitching, though, there was little pressure on Baltimore’s lineup to produce. These sorts of starts are why the Orioles acquired Eflin.
Pretty soon, though, Eflin won’t have to wait as long to see his wife and children in person. On Monday, an off day, the Eflin family will leave Tampa Bay for Baltimore. It’s his new home, where he’ll pitch through the end of 2025, but it will fully feel like home once they arrive.
“That’s going to be great getting my girls up there and getting my whole crew up there,” Eflin said.
