USATSI_18773225 — © Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Hoskins' Big Night Propels Philadelphia Phillies Past Pittsburgh Pirates

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Rhys Hoskins carried his team over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday evening.

Author:
Ben Silver
Jul 30, 2022 11:00 AM EDT

In this story:

Major League Baseball need be put on watch, the Rhys Hoskins hot streak is back. Over his last six games, the Philadelphia Phillies slugger is slashing .417/.462/.583. Compare that to the seven previous games when he was batting just .077 and the Phillies were 3-4, and it's easy to see why Hoskins is so important to his club.

His four hits led the way to a Phillies victory, but they wouldn't have gotten there in the first place without help from depth starter Bailey Falter.

It seemed an auspicious start to the game when he allowed a first-pitch double off the bat of Pittsburgh Pirates leadoff hitter Kevin Newman, but Falter recovered, striking out the last two batters of the frame, then continuing that streak.

He struck out the next four batters he saw. By the middle of the third, Falter had K'd six, his career high.

Despite a third-inning RBI double from Greg Allen, and a sixth-inning home run from Ke'Bryan Hayes, Falter had the best start of his big league career, striking out eight and pitching six innings of quality baseball, allowing only two runs.

On the other side of the ball, José Quintana was just as, if not more, dominant. In what will assuredly be his final start for the Pirates, Quintana didn't surrender a single run, allowing only six baserunners through 5.2 innings pitched.

Though the Phillies were threatening in the sixth, with two outs and the bases loaded, Yerry de los Santos came in to force a Nick Castellanos fly out to escape the jam and close Quintana's line pre-Trade Deadline.

Failing to score in the sixth, the Phillies found themselves with a two-run hole to climb out of, and they did just that in the seventh.

With two outs and Matt Vierling on second and Odúbel Herrera on first, Kyle Schwarber launched an RBI single off the wall in right field. It could've tied the game, but Herrera slowed coming around second.

After the game, interim manager Rob Thomson addressed Herrera's lack of hustle.

Luckily for Herrera and the Phillies, Hoskins came up next on a career night, lining a groundball through the hole in the left side to knot the ballgame at two.

Now it was the bullpen's time to shine. Over four innings they allowed not a single run to cross the plate, and only two hits.

One fact is undeniable after the Phillies recent stretch: their bullpen has kept the club in the playoff race through grit, and sheer force of will. But the offense still had work to do.

After Pittsburgh's own bullpen silenced Philadelphia’s bats in the eighth and ninth, the Phillies and Hoskins led off the 10th with Garrett Stubbs on second.

It didn't take long for Hoskins to get a pitch he liked. It was a cutter from Duane Underwood Jr. on the outer half that came in at 89mph, but left the bat at 103.7mph and landed 410 feet away in dead center.

The Phillies had a 4-2 lead they would not relinquish and rode Connor Brogdon's 10th inning save to climb six games above .500 and keep their feet planted firmly in the National League's third Wild Card spot.