Nola, Phils take care of Mets
PHILADELPHIA » Rhys Hoskins shook off a slump with a threeRBI double, Jean Segura homered and Aaron Nola tossed seven scoreless innings to lead the Phillies to a 6-2 win over the Mets on Saturday night.
Hoskins, once a feared slugger, has seen his production dramatically dip since the All-Star break last season and the worthiness of his spot in the lineup has been a daily question for manager Joe Girardi.
“I’m not worried about Rhys,” Girardi said before the game.
He was on to something. Hoskins broke the game open in the fifth with a shot to rightcenter off Steven Matz (0-4) that cleared the bases and gave the Phillies a 5-0 lead. Hoskins hit 18 homers in just 50 games in 2017, 34 in 2018 and 29 last year — but has none this season. He only had one RBI this year and tied an ignominious franchise record this week when he grounded into three double plays in one game.
Matz allowed eight runs against the Nationals his last time out and seemed to have figured himself out early in this one. Segura hit a solo homer in the second for the 1-0 lead, but that was the only hit the lefty allowed until the fifth.
He walked Andrew McCutchen (batting just .184) with the bases loaded before allowing Hoskins — his average hovering around .200 all season — to rip his double. Hoskins scored on Bryce Harper’s head-first slide into second base for an RBI double and a 6-0 lead. That was it for Matz.
Nola (2-1) tossed three-hit ball and struck out eight over his seven innings.
Nola left his last start against Baltimore after allowing one run in eight innings. Two relievers gave up seven runs in the ninth and the Phillies held on for a 13-8 victory.
Dominic Smith broke up the shutout with a two-run homer in the ninth, his fourth straight game with a homer.
The Phillies won the first two games of the series after Harper’s
RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted them to a 6-5 victory Friday. The Phillies are 7-9, and in a season in which it will get late in the playoff push early, they know they needed to get going.
“I think we need to make some hay in the next 10 days,” Girardi said. “These are important games. These two are important. I don’t want to look too far ahead but these games are important.”
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