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Rhys Hoskins has been in this situation before and had the chance to run away from the home fans and each time before…
“I would come up short, either by trying to do too much or by being too passive,” he said.
Hoskins didn’t miss out this time. With two outs at the bottom of ninth, he slashed a 2-1 slider from Miami Marlins reserve Anthony Bass into the left-center gap to hit Matt Vierling and give the Phillies a dramatic 3-2 walk- Off-win to bring Citizens Bank Park on Monday night.
Hoskins was still soaked from the Gatorade shower he received after driving home the game’s winner as he spoke to reporters moments later at the victorious clubhouse.
“It’s the best kind of shower,” he said. “I just went there and tried not to do too much. I was just trying to hit a pitch. We knew what Bass was doing with the slider. I knew I had to see it, and it was high enough and I could get the barrel to do it.”
It was the first walkoff hit of Hoskins’ career and came in his 571st game.
“This is the best,” he said. “The best.”
The win was the Phillies’ 10th in their last 11 games and it pushed back to one game over .500. It came a day after their nine-game winning streak was cut short in a 1-13 loss to Arizona.
“I think it was important that we win just to keep the momentum going,” said Hoskins, who hit .379 (11-29) in his last seven games.
The Phillies are 9-1 under manager Rob Thomson, who took over from Joe Girardi when the team was 22-29.
Almost everything Thomson has touched since taking over has turned to gold. In the team’s last two wins, he played rookie outfielder Matt Vierling at second and third base, and Vierling made a significant contribution.
Aaron Nola and Sandy Alcantara fought a close pitcher duel here. The Phils were 2-1 down and entered the Round of 16. Hoskins and Bryce Harper both went without outs and Didi Gregorius brought Hoskins home with the tie against reliever Steven Okert after Alcantara JT made Realmuto jump into a double play.
Vierling started the winners’ rally with a single singles against Bass in ninth place. Kyle Schwarber lashed out for the second time. With the score 0-1 to Hoskins, Thomson gave Vierling the green light to steal. Vierling steals the bag with a headlong slide.
“That was huge,” Thomson said. “We got some decent times on the pitcher.
When Vierling saw the green light, he could no longer be denied.
“There’s definitely a lot of pressure in this situation,” he said. “It was important for the team to be safe there. It put us in a good position to win the game.”
Alcantara entered the game in second place in the NL with a 1.61 ERA, and the Marlins had won his previous six starts. He gave up just two runs in 7⅔ innings. Nola pretty much matched him with seven innings of two carries, walk-free baseball.
Before the game, Thomson reminded players of the importance of the stretch the Phils would soon embark on – eight straight games against NL East clubs Miami and Washington.
“I spoke to the guys before the game and told them we need to start winning games in our division,” Thomson said. “That’s what good teams do. So that was a good start – a good win from a single source. We showed a lot of character.”
The Marlins have been a thorn in the side of the Phillies in recent seasons. The Phils have not had a winning season against the Marlins since 2018. The Phils are 2-3 against them this season and have a chance to tie the series Tuesday night. Zach Eflin, who got off to a disappointing start last time out in Milwaukee, will take on Miami left-back Trevor Rogers.
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