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Rhys Hoskins returns to cleanup spot vs. Pirates, promptly delivers two hits

Throughout his brief career, the slumping slugger has been most productive by a wide margin when he bats in the No. 4 spot.

Rhys Hoskins bats against the Pirates on Monday.
Rhys Hoskins bats against the Pirates on Monday.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

Rhys Hoskins didn’t merely remain in the Phillies lineup Wednesday night. The slumping slugger also returned to a familiar place in the batting order.

After 19 consecutive games in either the leadoff or No. 2 spots, Hoskins was dropped to the clean-up spot for the finale of a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citizens Bank Park. Hoskins has had more success in that spot than any other during his brief major-league career.

Sure enough, he tripled and doubled for his first multi-hit game since July 24 in the Phillies’ 12-3 victory.

It was the latest in a series of maneuvers by manager Gabe Kapler to try to jump-start the first baseman, who has been in a funk for six weeks and committed a costly error in the ninth inning of Tuesday night’s 5-4 loss.

"He's had a lot of success in the two and the four [spots] the last couple years, and it's certainly natural for him to be in a run-producing spot," Kapler said. "When he is his most natural, he's a really, really good hitter. We're trying to create that natural feel for him."

Hoskins was batting .262 with 15 homers and a .931 OPS at the All-Star break. Since then, he was batting .166 with five homers and a .661 OPS in 145 at-bats entering Wednesday night. In his last 71 at-bats since Aug. 4, he was 7-for-71 (.099) with one homer and a .470 OPS.

It's true that Hoskins has been primarily a No. 2 or 4 hitter through his brief major-league career. Of his 329 starts, 189 have come in the clean-up spot and 120 in the No. 2 spot. But he has been most productive, by a wide margin, as a clean-up hitter.

Entering play Wednesday night, he was batting .265 with a .558 slugging percentage and .959 OPS when he begins a game in the No. 4 spot compared with .218 with a .442 slugging percentage and .776 OPS in the No. 2 spot.

Kapler acknowledged that Hoskins "certainly looks like he's had a lot of success in the four-hole," but suggested the sample sizes aren't large enough to draw a meaningful conclusion.

“Sometimes I try to make adjustments that I feel like have only upside and zero downside,” Kapler said. “Right now, I don’t see the downside of putting him in a position where he’s had success and been comfortable.”