Phillies spoil Rhys Hoskins’ homecoming, beat Brewers 3-1
Chris Szagola/AP Photo
Rhys Hoskins sat with reporters in the Brewers’ dugout pregame Monday. It was the first time he had been in Citizens Bank Park since the Phillies lost Game 7 of the 2023 NLCS.
“I’m kind of a crier. I’ll probably cry at some point today. I think it just tells you about the energy and emotion I’ve been able to grab from this place.
“Hopefully they don’t have to stop the game because I’m crying too much.”
Hoskins was not the only one who shed a tear watching the Phillies’ 3-1 win in front of a sold-out 43,553 crowd at Citizens Bank Park. Monday night seemed more than just a game, but a celebration of the legacy Hoskins left behind in Philadelphia.
The appreciation for the Big Fella was shown before his first at-bat in the second inning, where the Phillies held a video tribute to him. The game paused for about 30 seconds as Hoskins stepped to the plate, where he patted J.T. Realmuto on the head and back.
The Phillies even played Hoskins’ old walk-up song, Calvin Harris’ “Slide.” It is only the second time they have ever done that for a visiting player — “Kashmir” for Chase Utley‘s return.
When you look back at Hoskins’ numbers as a Phillies, it is really nothing crazy. He was a very streaky guy who constantly found a way to drive in runs. The more significant factor with him, however, is the hope that he restored in the Phillies as a franchise.
A homegrown position player who lived up to the hopes and expectations that were put on him. That was rare for the Phillies at the time. The last time there was hope in a homegrown position player? Ryan Howard, who was a fifth round of the 2001 draft. Hoskins was a fifth-round pick in 2014, which was when the Phils began to trend downhill.
On top of the return for Hoskins, he was in a lot of action Monday night.
In the top of the fifth, with Hoskins on second base after a walk and a stolen base, Blake Perkins lined a 2-1 cutter from Zack Wheeler right up the middle to Johan Rojas in centerfield. He scooped it up and fired a strike to home with Hoskins trucking it toward the plate. The throw was right on target, Realmuto snagged it and tagged out Hoskins for the third out. The two former teammates then exchanged some athletic butt slaps.
Realmuto got the last laugh.
However, it was Hoskins who got to smile once more in the seventh.
He crushed a 2-1 four-seamer that was middle-up in the zone into the first row in left field for his 83rd career home run at Citizens Bank Park. A mix of boos and cheers rained down on him, which he responded with a salute.
For Wheeler, though, it was really the only mistake the Cy Young candidate made all night.
Wheeler went seven dominant innings allowing five hits, one run, and three walks while striking out six on 114 pitches, his second-most in his five seasons in Philadelphia. Rob Thomson felt comfortable extending him a bit more than usual with his next start not until next Tuesday.
Wheeler’s season ERA is now 2.23.
A fun play that you do not see too often occurred in the third inning. With the bases loaded with no outs and the Phils up by two, leadoff man Brice Turang grounded a ball back to Wheeler on the seventh pitch of the at-bat. Wheeler immediately made a wild throw to the plate that Realmuto fielded on a short-hop and then fired to first base for a rare 1-2-3 double play.
With a strikeout of William Contreras, Wheeler escaped the jam and cruised from then.
The Phillies hit four singles to score the game’s first two runs in the top of the second. Edmundo Sosa and Rojas both recorded with RBI singles. Two innings later, David Dahl, who made his Phillies debut Monday night, smocked a missile over the right field wall for a solo home run.
He went 2-for-3 on the day with the homer and was treated with a standing ovation when he went back to left field after clubbing the homer. Not a bad start.
The Phillies are now 42-19 and have a seven-game lead over the Braves in the NL East. The Brewers are the best team the Phils have faced since their first three games of the season against Atlanta. This time, the Phils took Game 1.
Cristopher Sanchez will go for the Fightins in Game 2 on Tuesday night.
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