BOSTON — Rhys Hoskins and J.D. Martinez were making small talk the other night about the biggest topic in baseball through the first half of the season. And the sluggers agreed that MLB’s enforcement of an existing rule that forbids a pitcher from using illegal foreign substances on the ball has given the sport a much-needed infusion of offense.
“One-hundred percent,” Martinez said. “I think the whole league has seen a difference. I was at first base talking to Rhys Hoskins about it, and he’s like, ‘It’s amazing. It’s such a difference now.’”
By itself, the ban on sticky stuff didn’t explain Hoskins’ two-run double off the Green Monster or the Phillies’ eight-run eighth inning Saturday in an 11-2 pummeling of the American League East-leading Red Sox at Fenway Park. The Phillies mashed 13 hits, including home runs by Jean Segura in the first inning and Alec Bohm in the second, and evened the three-game series going into Sunday’s final game before the All-Star break.
Zoom out, though, and you can plainly see what Hoskins and Martinez were talking about. Prior to June 3, when MLB issued what amounted to a cease-and-desist letter to pitchers in advance of mandatory in-game pat-downs, hitters across the league were batting .236 with a .312 on-base percentage and .395 slugging percentage. Since June 3, those numbers have risen to .247/.321/.414.
Hoskins, the Phillies’ representative in the MLB Players Association, said Saturday that the increase in offense may be multifactorial. He noted the warmer weather in most cities and the tendency for balls to carry farther in the summer months.
But he also doesn’t believe it’s coincidental that the Phillies are averaging 5.3 runs per game since June 3 compared with 4.1 before that. Six of the eight games in which they have tallied a double-digit run total came after June 3, including three this week. As a team, their slash line has gone from .237/.312/.387 (.699 OPS) before June 3 to .243/.320/.423 (.742) since then entering Saturday.
“To me it’s most prevalent on fastballs,” Hoskins said. “Guys have a good slider, a good breaking ball, they have a good breaking ball. That’s just how it is. But I think it affects their ability to pitch at the top of the zone like has been taught the last three, four, five years. That’s where I see the biggest difference.”
Regardless, the Phillies will take it. They are within sight of the division-leading New York Mets at the break because their top three starters — Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Zach Eflin — have given them a chance in most games. But If they’re going to snap the National League’s longest playoff drought, an offense that was supposed to crush will have to lead them there.
They jumped Red Sox lefty Martín Pérez, as Segura blasted his 10th career leadoff homer but first since 2016. Bohm, who was replaced in the eighth inning without immediate explanation, hit only his second homer since May 6 — and his first against an actual pitcher after going deep this week against Chicago Cubs infielder Eric Sogard.
Left-hander Matt Moore bent but didn’t break for 4 1/3 innings and the bullpen maintained the one-run lead before the offense went to work in the eighth. The Phillies sent 13 batters to the plate. They got five hits and drew four walks against three Red Sox relievers, all of whom had their hats, gloves, and belt buckles checked by the umpires as they left the game.
“You kind of felt it building just because of how good [major-league pitchers] got, right?” Hoskins said. “If you look, there’s just no break. Generally you get way ahead and you’re facing a team’s long guy. Long guys used to be 88 to 90 with a little sink and a slider. Especially in our division, there’s just not a whole lot of that anymore. Everybody has velocity, everybody has stuff.”
Until recently, many pitchers were getting a boost. That isn’t the case anymore. Offense is up, and the Phillies seem to be taking advantage.
Center stage
With Odúbel Herrera headed to the injured list before the game — and staying there through at least next weekend — the Phillies will put Travis Jankowski in center field against right-handed pitchers and Luke Williams against lefties. Williams, a utilityman with four career starts in center field, took his turn and promptly robbed Alex Verdugo of extra bases in the first inning with a diving catch.
As first-half storylines go, it doesn’t get much better for the Phillies than Williams, whose two-week magic-carpet ride last month included helping Team USA qualify for the Olympics, making his major league debut, capping his first career start with a walk-off home run, and getting his own rooting section at Dodger Stadium, not far from his hometown in southern California.
Williams has cooled at the plate since then, going 5 for 30 in his last 17 games, including 0 for 3 against the Red Sox. But his ability to play seven positions continues to make him him an asset to the Phillies, especially when an everyday player such as Herrera goes down.
Héctor’s a protector
Rookie left-hander Bailey Falter went six-up, six-down in the sixth and seventh innings and picked up his first major-league win. But deposed closer Héctor Neris got the biggest outs of the game with one pitch in the fifth.
With the tying run at first and dangerous Martinez at the plate, Neris rolled a double play to safeguard a 3-2 lead, proof that leverage relievers don’t have to always pitch late in the game to impact the outcome.
