Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Rhys Hoskins shakes whatever was ailing him
Rhys Hoskins couldn’t quite put his finger on what was missing over his last 11 homerless games, but something was off. Whatever it was contributed to a personal power drought, with just two extra-base hits in that span.
But that string of frustration ended Saturday, and quickly.
Hoskins’ two-run home run in the first inning jolted his bat back to life, keying a 3-1 win over the Washington Nationals.
Hoskins also worked two walks and sent another ball, with the bases loaded in the ninth, to the wall in left-center, a performance that manager Gabe Kapler deemed much more characteristic of Hoskins.
“Seeming to have more traditional Rhys Hoskins at-bats today,” the firstyear manager said. “Working deeper counts, longer at-bats, big home run. We all thought the last ball he hit was out of the ballpark as well.”
That the breakout game came against Nationals starter Tanner Roark seemed an odd circumstance, since he had been lights out against righthanded hitters this season, allowing just eight hits in 57 at-bats (.140). With just one double and one homer allowed, batters were slugging a paltry .211 against.
But Hoskins fixed that before Roark had recorded an out, blasting a 3-2 fastball on the seventh pitch of their encounter 413 feet to center field for his fifth home run and first since April 21 to stake the Phillies to a 2-0 lead.
What’s more, the Phillies’ three other rightside starters all picked up base knocks. Maikel Franco laced an RBI single in the sixth to plate Carlos Santana, the 11th time in the last 13 games that Franco has hit safely. Scott Kingery and pitcher Vince Velasquez added singles for the Phillies against Roark.
Kapler didn’t think the adjustments were pitcherspecific, but merely each hitter sticking to his principles. For Hoskins, that meant working counts and picking pitches to elevate.
“I think the approach was the same,” Hoskins said. “I think with (Roark), you have to get the ball up. I think that’s the only chance you have to slug against him. I think we did that with a couple of at-bats today and it paid off.”
Franco excelled by being aggressive in the zone. Kapler even praised the third baseman for a scalded one-hopper on a 3-0 count that went as a groundout but was a sound decision. Franco added a pair of stellar defensive plays, sprinting from a shifted possession into foul ground to nab a pop up to end the first, and turning a 5-3 double play in the sixth.
Roark’s early season numbers have been exceptionally low for his career, in which righties have batted .231 and slugged .332 against him in 158 appearances over six big-league seasons. The 31-year-old struck out nine Phillies for a Nats staff that leads the National League in punchouts (215 entering Saturday’s game).
But with Franco heating up and Santana (homer Friday night, triple Saturday) starting to come around, the Phils have a more dynamic offensive look.
“It gives us another threat,” Kapler said. “For a while there, it was looking like ... you really wanted to score your runs in the first four hitters of the lineup. Now it’s feeling a little bit deeper.”