Categories: 2024 Postgame Recaps

Phillies fans treated to perfect night in Hoskins’ return to Philadelphia

Rhys Hoskins salutes Phillies fans in his return to Citizens Bank Park. (Grace Del Pizzo/PhilliesNation)

Final Score: Phillies 3, Brewers 1

It was a perfect night for the more than 43,500 fans who packed Citizens Bank Park to see Rhys Hoskins play against the Phillies and for the Phillies to play against Rhys Hoskins.

The former Phillies first baseman walked, stole a base, got called out at home and homered against his former teammate Zack Wheeler in his first game back at Citizens Bank Park. He received a standing ovation in his first at-bat and booed loudly as he trotted around the bases. Hoskins solicited more cheers as he crossed home plate and saluted the fans behind the third-base dugout.

Zack Wheeler (7-3) battled both the Brewers lineup and home plate umpire Sean Barber’s strike zone on his way to allowing only one earned run over seven innings. Wheeler threw a season-high 114 pitches, which is notable considering that his next start is likely to come on extended rest with the off days before and after the London Series.

In his first game up with the big league club, David Dahl continued his Triple-A hot streak with a single and a home run.

Highlights

The Phillies strung together a few hits, scoring two runs on four singles in the second inning. Both runs batted in from Edmundo Sosa and Johan Rojas came with two outs against Bryse Wilson.
With the bases loaded and nobody out in the third, Brice Turang hit a comebacker to Wheeler. He threw it into the ground and J.T. Realmuto scooped it to get the out at home and threw quickly to first for a rare 1-2-3 double play. Wheeler then struck out William Contreras to end the threat.

Hoskins is still a Phillie at heart, as exemplified by this play at the plate in the fifth:

Dahl’s only hit last season in the big leagues was a home run. He went 2-for-3 in his first game with the Phillies tonight with a solo home run in his second at-bat.

Hoskins crushed Wheeler’s 102nd pitch of the night, a high fastball that caught the center of the plate, into the left-field seats for a solo home run.

Notes

José Alvarado’s strikeout against Christian Yelich in the ninth inning was the 400th of his major league career.
Per the Phillies, Johan Rojas’ throw from center to home to get Hoskins out was the sixth-hardest thrown outfield assist in baseball this season at 96.7 mph.
Wheeler has thrown at least seven innings for the sixth time this season. Ten teams in MLB have fewer than six and the Brewers have only one all season.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy hinted in his postgame interview that Milwaukee could start lefty opener Jared Koenig for a second consecutive day against the Phillies’ 1-2-3 of Schwarber, Realmuto and Harper.

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