PHILADELPHIA _ Gabe Kapler watched Tuesday night from the Phillies dugout as his first baseman made a game-deciding error and went down in four of his five plate appearances. It was another rough night _ perhaps the roughest _ in a stretch that has tested Rhys Hoskins.
Maybe, Kapler thought from his perch at the dugout's top step, it was time for the first baseman to have a night off. So he asked Hoskins Tuesday _ less than 24 hours before Wednesday night's 12-3 win over the Pirates _ if he wanted to sit.
"The answer to that question," Kapler said. "Was a pretty strong 'No.'"
The answer was quick. And it seemed to be right. Hoskins tripled in his first-bat, doubled a run in in his second, atoned for his error, and set the tone for a win that the Phillies needed to keep pace in the wild-card race. Hoskins went 2 for 4, reached base three times, and scored twice. It was his first multi-hit game since July 24. Hoskins needed a game like this just as badly as the Phillies needed the win.
He entered Wednesday batting .166 with a .661 OPS in 41 games since the All-Star break. It was the worst slump of his career, but Hoskins was beginning to show signs of freeing himself from it. Kapler, after Hoskins declined a day off, went back and watched video of Hoskins' at-bats on Tuesday night.
Hoskins made contact four times on Tuesday and each ball left his bat with an exit-velocity of more than 95 mph. He was hitting the ball hard, but had little to show for it. The breaks, the Phillies figured, would have to come.
"He looks pretty fresh physically," Kapler said. "There's no question in my mind and I acknowledge that it's been a grind for him mentally. But I always like having Rhys Hoskins in the lineup."
Rhys Hoskins is welcomed back into the Phillies dugout after scoring the first run Wednesday night.
The breaks came as the Phillies battered Pirates rookie righthander Mitch Keller for eight runs, using a batting order that could be the one they ride for the season's final five weeks. The Phillies, if they are to chase down one of the National League's two wild-cards, will need production from Hoskins. Wednesday night was a good sign.
Corey Dickerson batted leadoff and homered in the fifth. J.T. Realmuto, batting second, became the first Phillies catcher since Mike Lieberthal on May 22, 1999 to triple and homer. Bryce Harper scored three runs from the No. 3 spot. And Hoskins, after bouncing around the order this month, batted clean-up. The Phillies are going to ride their offense for the rest of the season and see if it takes them to October. And Kapler may have found a batting order he can lean on.
Phillies' J.T. Realmuto reacts on third base after his firth inning triple against the Pirates at Citizens Bank Park August 28, 2019.
They did enough to take the pressure off Vince Velasquez, who allowed two runs in five innings and gave the Phillies just enough.
On Tuesday, Hoskins failed to secure a throw from second base that would have ended the top of the ninth and kept the game tied. Instead, the winning run scored as the ball rolled away. He then started the bottom of the ninth with an out. The month, Hoskins said, has been tough.
"I don't really have much else to say," Hoskins said after Tuesday's loss.
Shortly after, he told his manager that he was staying in the lineup. And then he started Wednesday by launching a fly ball off the top of the right-field wall. It skipped away from Jose Osuna and Hoskins kept running. He reached third to thunderous cheers, as the fans believed he was entitled to such an ovation.
Everyone in the ballpark knew how tough the last seven weeks have been for Hoskins and everyone knows how important he is to the next month. They let Hoskins know they appreciated that he chose to play Wednesday night and fight through his struggles.
