Ejections, grand slams, and hittin’ season: Phillies take two of three from Mariners

For the first time in 2022, the Phillies won a series on the road. This sure was an interesting series. Joe Girardi was ejected in game two because of a questionable call at first base, Rhys Hoskins went yard in all three games, and the Phillies’ starting pitching was dominant once again.

Game summaries

The Phillies’ bats were more than awake in game one. The Phillies scored six runs off of Mariners’ starter Chirs Flexen, and they scored three more off of Diego Castillo. In the second inning, Jean Segura and Rhys Hoskins hit back-to-back home runs to get the ball rolling. J.T. Realmuto, Jean Segura, Nick Castellanos, and Rhys Hoskins came through with RBI singles, and Nick Castellanos hit an RBI double. This gave the Phillies a 9-0 lead.

In total, the Phillies tallied 17 hits on the day, and they were 6-11 with runners in scoring position.

Ranger Suarez got the start for the Phillies, and he plowed through the Mariners’ starting nine. He used his sinker to go up and in to produce groundballs, and his slider and changeup allowed him to punch out seven batters. Ultimately, Ranger threw six innings of scoreless baseball, and he allowed just four hits to lead the Phillies to a win in game one.

Game two was the weird one. Aaron Nola started for the Phillies, and he was the unluckiest man in T-Mobile Park that night. Of the Mariners’ first seven hits, four were infield singles, one was a line drive down the line that was fair by a few inches, one was a bloop single off of a nasty sinker, and the other was a slow groundball that beat the shift. These seven “hits” allowed three runs to cross the plate. Nola threw 5.1 total innings and allowed four earned runs.

In the bottom of the second, Adam Frazier hit a grounder to Jean Segura. Segura charged the ball and made a quick throw to Rhys Hoskins at first base. As Frazier ran through the base, he knocked the ball out of Hoskins’ glove. The first base umpire, Brian Knight, ruled that Frazier was safe. The ball trickled down the line, and Luis Torrens scored. Rhys Hoskins wanted the play to be reviewed, as he felt that he held onto the ball long enough for an out at first base. Bill Miller, the crew chief, would not allow a replay review, and Joe Girardi got heated. Miller threw him out of the game, and the umpires refused to give the play another look. Luis Torrens was eventually ejected in the eighth inning in regards to a different play.

It is clear that luck was not on the Phillies’ side, but they did not help themselves, either. It is never a good day when you have almost as many errors as hits—the Phillies made four errors as a team, and they only recorded five hits.

In the fifth inning, Nick Castellanos hit a home run, and Jean Segura scored on a wild pitch a few batters later. This put the Phillies within one, but Brad Hand hit Ty France with the bases loaded in the bottom half of the sixth. J.P. Crawford followed with a sacrifice fly, and the Mariners had quickly rebuilt their three-run lead. Rhys Hoskins and Jean Segura hit solo home runs, but it was not enough for the Phillies to make a comeback. Ultimately, they lost 5-4.

Thanks to the Big Fella, the Phils came back in game three. Bailey Falter made the spot start, and he did not disappoint. He allowed just one run over 4.2 innings of work.

The Mariners took the lead in the third inning, but with the bases loaded, Rhys Hoskins took a 2-1 fastball into the left field stands. This was the first grand slam hit by a Phillie in 2022.

Seranthony Dominguez was the first man out of the Phillies ‘pen. Dominguez struck out two in 1.1 innings scoreless. Jose Alvarado struggled, and he was pulled with two outs in the sixth inning for Jeurys Familia. Familia let an inherited runner score, but he shut the Marlins down from there. Corey Knebel relieved Familia with two outs in the eighth, and Knebel got the four-out save to close the 4-2 victory.

Keeping the youngsters under control

Luckily, the Phillies were able to control the young stars on the Mariners. Julio Rodriguez was 5-12 in the series, but he did not dive any runs in. Kelenic was 0-7, and his average dropped down to .140. It is possible that Kelenic could spend some time in Triple-A, as he is off to a very rough start. In his last 15 games, he is hitting .118 with a .446 OPS.

Kelenic was the sixth overall pick in the 2018 draft, and Julio Rodriguez is the number one overall prospect in the Mariners’ organization.

Rhys Hoskins is hot, but how long will it last?

Rhys Hoskins has hit one of his hot streaks where he is the best player in baseball for a week, and he is atrocious for the next three weeks to follow. He had three home runs in this series. His home run on Wednesday was a grand slam, and it ended up being the only run that the Phils were able to produce.

While Hoskins having his hot streak during a series where we face the Dodgers could be beneficial, it also could go to waste if his bat is not enough.

He is hitting .286 with a 1.012 OPS in his last seven games, but he was 6-13 with seven RBIs in the three games in Seattle. Hoskins does not stay hot for long, but when he is going, he is unstoppable. Hopefully, Hoskins will give the Phillies a boost as they are heading into a very tough series in Los Angeles.