The right-hander will try to carry that success into September and help the Chicago Cubs grow their lead in the National League Central on Saturday night.Hendricks and the Cubs are facing the Philadelphia Phillies in the middle game of a weekend series at Citizens Bank Park. Right-hander Zach Eflin will be on the mound for Philadelphia.The Phillies Cliff Pennington Jersey , who haven’t won any of their last seven series, beat the Cubs 2-1 on an Asdrubal Cabrera walk-off homer in Friday night’s opener. Philadelphia (72-62) narrowed its deficit to two games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East after the victory.Article continues below ...Despite the Friday loss, the Cubs (79-55) have still won eight of their last 10 games. Their lead was four games over the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central after Friday’s loss.Hendricks was part of the Cubs’ recent success in his last outing, throwing seven scoreless innings against the Cincinnati Reds while giving up just two hits. It was the third time in 27 starts this season that Hendricks has thrown seven or more shutout innings.Hendricks (10-10, 3.86 ERA) has pitched seven innings in both of his last starts, giving up just two runs in the outings. Cubs manager Joe Maddon said one of Hendricks’ off-speed pitches has made a significant difference.“The difference for me is the deception on the changeup is back,” Maddon told reporters after Hendricks’ last start. “The arm speed on the changeup is there, and it’s not just a take pitch anymore. They’re not reading it like they were earlier this season, so that’s a big part of his success.”Hendricks, 28, is 3-2 with a 3.58 ERA and 0.949 WHIP in five career starts against the Phillies. He allowed five runs across five innings when he faced Philadelphia on June 5.Eflin (9-5, 3.99), meanwhile, has struggled recently. He has a 6.46 ERA and opponents are hitting .352 with a .917 OPS against him in his last three starts.He surrendered five runs (three earned) and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings of a loss to the Washington Nationals during his last start on Monday.“Honestly, I thought I threw the ball pretty well Joey Votto Jersey ,” Eflin told MLB.com afterward. “I thought we did a good job of mixing it up. We had some good sequences going, utilized my changeup a lot tonight, which was big. It was a huge step for me being able to throw it that many times, for it to look that good. But at the end of the day, I lost the game.”Eflin beat Hendricks and the Cubs in that June 5 game, going 7 2/3 innings while giving up just one run and eight hits. Eflin, a 24-year-old who has never pitched a major league game in September, is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA against the Cubs in two career starts. The Orioles officially introduced their new GM yesterday. Now, it’s time to get to work on rebuilding this team."Good morning, Camden Chatters.How are you feeling about the Orioles today? I must say, I’m the most excited I’ve been in a long time.New Orioles general manager Mike Elias had his introductory press conference yesterday, and as Mark Brown pointed out, he said all the right things. Elias seems incredibly prepared and knowledgeable and eager to take on the unenviable task of turning a 115-loss club into a contender within the next few years.Elias has the pedigree. He has the smarts. And he’s no stranger to rebuilding, having helped lead the once woeful Astros to championship glory as their assistant GM. By all accounts, he’s the right man at the right time for the Birds http://www.redsfanproshop.com/authentic-cliff-pennington-jersey , and his thoughtful comments on a variety of Orioles-related topics yesterday helped bear that out.It’s an encouraging time for Orioles fans. It’s nice to have the feeling that there’s someone in charge who has a solid plan in place and can be trusted to make the right decisions for the organization.That said, the first time he makes a trade that I don’t like, I’m totally jumping off the bandwagon. What have you done for me lately, Mike?LinksElias introduced as O’s GM, lays out vision - Orioles.comElias apparently came to his first interview with a PowerPoint presentation at the ready, and lo and behold, he landed the gig. This is why job applications always ask about PowerPoint skills.New Orioles GM Mike Elias’ emphasis will be on building ‘an elite talent pipeline’ - Baltimore SunElias says, “The plan is simple. We’re going to build an elite talent pipeline.” That doesn’t sound very simple to me, but that’s why he’s the GM and I’m just a guy on the internet.Elias says Orioles can win again if they trust the process - Baltimore BaseballAnother money quote from Elias: “Analytics is not optional in today’s game.” It’s refreshing to have an Orioles GM who realizes this, and sad that it took the club so long to enter the 21st century.Mike Elias hopes to create an “elite talent pipeline” to rebuild the O’s - Steve MelewskiAs a former international scouting director, Elias also promises a strong commitment to the international amateur market. Anything will be better than recent years, in which the O’s signed nobody for years and then suddenly accumulated tons of international money last year only to...sign nobody again.Positive reviews on Elias accompany today’s intro at Camden Yards - School of RochI’m telling you, this guy seems too good to be true. When do we find out Elias has some dark, horrible secret, like that he grew up a Yankees fan or something?I’m Mike Elias Reggie Sanders Jersey , new Orioles EVP & General Manager AMA - RedditPerhaps you’d like to get your Elias news straight from the horse’s mouth. He held a Q&A with O’s fans on Reddit, something I don’t think any other Orioles GM has done since the inception of the internet. Elias, by the way, is looking for good crabcake recommendations.Orioles birthdays and historyIs today your birthday? Happy birthday! Four ex-Orioles have birthdays today, and you deserve a gold star if you remember any of these guys’ careers. David Washington (28) had six plate appearances for the 2017 Orioles, and struck out in five of them. Lefty Jo-Jo Reyes (34) pitched nine games for the 2011 Birds, with a 6.16 ERA. The late Herm Starrette, who died last year at age 80, pitched parts of three years in Baltimore from 1963-65. And second baseman Don Leppert batted .114 in 40 games for the 1955 Orioles. Mr. Leppert turns 88 years old today, so a very happy birthday to him.On this day in 2012, the Orioles traded Robert Andino to the Mariners, ending his four-year O’s career. Do I mention this just as an excuse to post the video of Andino’s walkoff single in 2011 that completed the Red Sox collapse? Yes, yes I do.