Hoskins' big night at the plate brings Phillies win

Hoskins’ big night at the plate brings Phillies win

Rebecca Serad

September 19 2017

By: Rebecca Serad, Sports Talk Philly Staff

Final: Philadelphia Phillies 6, Los Angeles Dodgers 2 ❖ Attendance: 20,145

PHILADELPHIA — Coming into tonight's game, the Philadelphia Phillies (60-91) were looking to build off of last night's win against the Los Angeles Dodgers (96-55). They had quite the challenge ahead of them, as the Dodgers had yet another ace on the mound: mid-season acquisition Yu Darvish. However, it was ultimately the Phillies who secured the victory. Phillies starter Aaron Nola was fantastic, allowing two runs on five hits over seven innings. While not known as a strike-out pitcher, Nola has continued to pitch like one, racking up eight Ks on the night. Luis Garcia and Hector Neris were both efficient in relief.

The Phillies offense didn't perk up until the sixth inning, but once it did, the team kept scoring. Odubel Herrera hit his 40th double of the season and J.P. Crawford hit his first Major League triple. Most notable were the contributions of Rhys Hoskins. He had the big hit of the game: a bases-clearing double in the seventh inning, in addition to knocking in a run an inning earlier. Over his four plate appearances, he saw a whopping 30 pitches, including 10 pitches during the at-bat that culminated in the double.

WP: Aaron Nola (12-10, 3.56 ERA) ❖ LP: Pedro Baez (3-6, 3.17 ERA)

Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next

Game Summary

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
LAD	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	9	1
PHI	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	1	X	6	8	0

The bats were quiet for both teams until the top of the third. Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal led off the inning with a homer just over the left field wall. One out later, Phils starter Aaron Nola walked his pitching counterpart, Yu Darvish. Fortunately, Nola was able to retire Chris Taylor and Corey Seager on a line out and a strike out, respectively, to end the frame.

The Dodgers added on in the fourth inning. With one out, Cody Bellinger singled to center field. Curtis Granderson followed with a double to right field to score Bellinger. Chase Utley grounded out to first to move Granderson up to third. Grandal grounded out for the final out, stranding Granderson.

The Phillies fought back in the bottom of the sixth. Second baseman Cesar Hernandez reached base on an error by Bellinger. One out later, Odubel Herrera singled to put runners on first and second for Rhys Hoskins. He singled to left field to score Hernandez and cut the Dodgers' lead in half. After a pitching change, Nick Williams hit an infield single to load the bases for last night's hero, Aaron Altherr. He grounded into a double play to end the rally.

The Phillies continued battling in the bottom of the seventh. J.P. Crawford led off the inning with his first Major League triple. Jorge Alfaro was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and third for pinch-hitter Maikel Franco. He struck out for the first out of the inning. Hernandez followed with a walk to load the bases. Freddy Galvis was retired on a fantastic sliding catch by Granderson for the second out; Crawford was unable to score on the play. Herrera walked on four pitches to knock in Crawford and move the other runners up a base. Hoskins followed with a bases-clearing double after a long at-bat to give the Phillies a 5-2 lead. Williams struck out for the final out, but the Phils had already taken advantage of the opportunity they were given.

The Phillies added on in the eighth. Altherr led off the inning with a solo home-run to left field. Crawford followed with a walk. Alfaro then hit into a double play to leave the bases empty for pinch hitter Hyun Soo Kim. He struck out to end the inning.

Ultimately, it was Hoskins' bat that handed the Phils the victory, with some support from the other hitters in the lineup, in addition to Nola's excellent start on the mound.

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