Phillies’ Rhys Hoskins: Misplay that changed Game 2 is ‘play I’ve made before and I’ll make again’

ATLANTA — Rhys Hoskins found Zack Wheeler on Wednesday night, telling him that the play that changed the course of the game — and maybe even the series — was his fault. No, Wheeler said, the blame belonged to him.

Regardless of who was culpable, the sixth-inning misplay in a 3-0 loss to the Braves in Game 2 of the National League Division Series led to the series being sent back to Philadelphia tied at one game apiece.

“That’s a play that I’ve made before and I’ll make again,” Hoskins said. “I just didn’t make it tonight.”

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The play was ruled a hit, but the single by Matt Olson with two outs in the sixth seemed to be a play that Hoskins should have been able to make. Hoskins said he misjudged the play and thought the ball — which had an exit velocity of 101.3 mph — left Olson’s bat faster than it actually did.

It skidded past his glove and into right field, allowing the game’s first run to score and keeping alive an inning that would end with the Phils in a three-run hole.

“I thought he hit it harder and he didn’t,” Hoskins said.

The inning started with Wheeler retiring the first two batters before he plunked Ronald Acuña Jr. in the right elbow. The game was delayed while Acuña was treated by the medical staff, but Wheeler said the pause did not knock him off his rhythm. He had retired 17 of the 18 batters he faced before hitting Acuña.

Wheeler walked Dansby Swanson after working a full count and was a strike away from finishing Olson before his slider was grounded to first base.

“I take responsibility for that,” Wheeler said. “If I execute that pitch, I think he’s swinging over it. That’s on me. It’s not on him at all. I should’ve executed.”

Hoskins led all first basemen this season with 12 errors and had the second-lowest Outs Above Average (minus 6) among National League first basemen who played at least 700 innings. The Phillies struggled to field a grounder on Wednesday while Atlanta made a pair of terrific catches, showing the importance of clean defense in October.

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“I think if you asked Rhys, he would say he should make that play,” manager Rob Thomson said. “I don’t know whether he didn’t get a good read off the bat, but it’s probably a play you should try to front, keep it in front of you if you can. I don’t know whether he had time to do that or not. I think if you asked Rhys he would probably tell you he should make that play.”

Hoskins is 1-for-18 this postseason after going 0-for-4 in Game 2. He ended the regular season with just 14 hits in his final 70 at-bats as his quiet finish to the season has followed him into the playoffs.

“I feel like I’ve had pretty good at-bats so far,” Hoskins said. “I feel like I’m getting pitched pretty tough, too. But that’s what happens in the postseason. I always say this, the hardest thing is getting to the box. If you can just continue to get in the box with some confidence you have a pretty good chance for something good to happen. So, continue to try to swing at strikes and be ready for them when they come.”

The Phillies won the opener against Atlanta despite Hoskins and Kyle Schwarber — the lineup’s first two hitters — combining to go 1-for-10. But they couldn’t overcome it on Wednesday when the pair went 0-for-8 with four strikeouts. Thomson said he has no plans to adjust his lineup ahead of Friday’s Game 3 in South Philly.

If the Phillies are to get past the defending world champions, they’ll need more from the top of their lineup. And they’ll need to make plays in the field instead of deciding who was at fault for the balls that snuck past them.

“They’re just missing right now,” Thomson said. “But I think Rhys is close because he’s lofting a lot of balls. And that’s a good sign for him. Maybe Schwarber is trying to do too much right now. But they’ll be fine. I trust them.”

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