Rhys Hoskins declines a day off, triggers Phillies to needed win over Pirates

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 on Tuesday -- less than 24 hours before Wednesday night’s 12-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citizens Bank Park -- 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 at-bat, doubled in a run 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.

The Phillies had 17 hits, eight of which were for extra bases. All eight starting position players had a hit and the Phillies took two of three from the Pirates. 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.

“This game is rooted in failure and it will just eat you up if you don’t keep going,” Hoskins said. “Jay Bruce has a saying that you just have to keep walking up to the white rectangle. As long as your name is on the lineup, just keep walking up to the box. Everyone in here is talented enough that eventually it will turn the other way.”

Kapler, after Hoskins declined a day off, went back and watched video of Hoskins’ at-bats Tuesday night.

Hoskins made contact four times 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.”

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 are off on Thursday, which is one month from the season’s final game, before they open a three-game series Friday night against the Mets in South Philly.

The Phillies, if they are to chase down one of the National League’s two wild-card berths, will need production from Hoskins. Wednesday night was a good sign.

Hoskins said he has been going easy for the last week in batting practice in an attempt to ease his effort level at the plate during the game. He has tried to control the weight distribution in his legs and “feel as in control in there as possible.” Finally, it paid off.

“The only thing I did different today was get a haircut,” Hoskins said.

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 cleanup.

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.

“Usually, good things happen when you’re not relying on one or two guys every night,” Hoskins said. “It takes the pressure off a lot of the other guys and you can just go do your thing.”

They did enough to take the pressure off Vince Velasquez, who allowed two runs in five innings and gave the Phillies just enough. Velasquez was roughed up last weekend in Miami but has allowed three runs or fewer in six of his last seven starts.

“Vince is doing a good job keeping us in games and giving our offense a chance to score runs,” Kapler said. “It’s interesting, the last couple of times out, we’ve really done a good job of that for him. He’s feeling pretty confident right now. His delivery looks smooth and easy.”

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 go-ahead 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.

“It really looked like Rhys had a lot of weight lifted off of his shoulders today,” Kapler said. "Even from the first at-bat. He felt really comfortable and relaxed at the plate and you could see it from the dugout. "