Rhys Hoskins, J.T. Realmuto lead another Phillies rout of the bottom-dwelling Nationals
Hoskins became the first Phillies player since at least 1900 to homer in the first inning of three consecutive games.
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Rhys Hoskins has been hot at the plate lately. Scorching, actually. Like this boiling-soup summer weather.
And for a few seconds Saturday night, he got hot-tempered, too.
Hoskins hasn’t participated much in Phillies playoff runs the last two years. In 2020, an elbow injury took him off the field in the middle of September. Last year, a torn abdominal muscle sent him to the operating table with 36 games remaining.
It’s little wonder, then, that he seemed ticked off in the third inning of an 11-5 rout of the Washington Nationals when Ildemaro Vargas slid headfirst into first base, jarring Hoskins’ right foot as he stretched for a throw from shortstop. Hoskins turned, said a few words, then simmered.
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It was an eye-blink of Phillies frustration in the midst of another knee-slapper against the stripped-for-parts Nationals. Once again, Hoskins got everything started by homering in the first inning for a third game in a row.
“I’m not sure if I’ve seen that before,” interim manager Rob Thomson said.
Not in Philadelphia, at least. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Hoskins is the first Phillies player since at least 1900 to go deep in the first inning of three consecutive games.
A few other highlights:
J.T. Realmuto tripled and homered in consecutive games. No Phillies player in the modern era — and no catcher on any team — has done that, either.
Newly acquired infielder Edmundo Sosa got his first Phillies hit and RBI and played as-advertised stellar defense. In the third inning, he made a backhand pick of a ball to third base that left starter Ranger Suárez smiling.
“Right before the game, I actually told him to get ready because he was going to get a bunch of ground balls that way,” Suárez said. “That’s why I was laughing. Because they actually went his way.”
Four years ago, a free-agent pursuit of left-hander Patrick Corbin didn’t go the Phillies’ way. They’re lucky. Corbin, who signed a six-year, $140 million deal with the Nationals, has a 7.02 ERA after the Phillies rocked him for six runs in the first inning and cruised to their fourth consecutive victory and ninth win in 10 games.
At 59-48, they are 11 games over .500 for the first time since May 29, 2019, and are the hottest team in a four-team race for three up-for-grabs playoff spots.
Who’d want to miss being around to see how this turns out? Surely not Hoskins.
The Phillies are 9-2 against the Nationals and have eight games left against them, including the series finale Sunday at Citizens Bank Park. They outscored them 23-11 in the last three games and preyed on Corbin, in particular. All but one of the Phillies’ runs against him came with two out.
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“We’re swinging it good right now,” said Matt Vierling, who belted a three-run homer to make it 4-0 before Bryson Stott broke it open with a two-run triple. “You just kind of roll with the hot streak.”
But Hoskins set the tone. Again. He crushed a 441-foot solo homer into the left-field seats. In the absence of injured Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Alec Bohm, and Realmuto have alternated and sometimes overlapped as the Phillies’ hottest hitter.
Hoskins has been the through line.
How’s this for a two-month tear? Entering Saturday night, the slugging first baseman had a .967 on-base plus slugging, with 11 doubles, 14 homers, 26 RBIs, and 31 runs scored in 51 games.
“That’s the sign of a good club, when it’s a different guy every night,” Thomson said. “When you get that thing going, it feels good and everybody feels like they’re a part of it and everybody’s contributing. It’s a good vibe.”
Singular sensation
In the most unheralded at-bat of the game, Nick Castellanos took a two-strike sinker the other way for a two-out single to right field that kept the first inning alive for Vierling’s big homer.
Castellanos hasn’t hit for his usual power with 10 homers in 440 plate appearances, a source of crushing disappointment to him, according to personal hitting coach Matt Martin. But Castellanos conceded the other day that he’s “letting go [of] expectations and being happy with a base hit to right field.”
In this case, it was exactly what the Phillies needed.
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Center stage
The deadline trade for Brandon Marsh means less playing time for Vierling, at least in center field. But with a lefty on the mound, Vierling was in the lineup and made the most of the chance.
Before his game-breaking homer against Corbin, he made a diving catch in center field to take a hit from Víctor Robles on the first batter of the game.
“You usually want to ease into it a little bit,” Vierling said, laughing. “But that one right off the bat, it was kind of a tough play. It was good to make that play. That’s great to set the tone.”
Coming attractions
Meanwhile, at high-A Jersey Shore, top pitching prospects Mick Abel and Andrew Painter made back-to-back starts in a doubleheader.
Abel, the Phillies’ first-round pick in 2020, gave up three hits and three walks and struck out eight in six scoreless innings. From the files of “anything you can do, I can do better,” Painter, the 2021 first-rounder, allowed two hits and one hit and struck out 11 in seven scoreless innings.