Phillies Rebound as Hoskins Walks-Off Against Marlins

It seems to be a natural cycle with the Philadelphia Phillies: win some incredible, if albeit improbable games, go on a streak, and then lose in spectacular fashion to a mediocre team.

It already happened earlier this week, when the team's nine-game win streak was brought to a halt thanks to a crushing 13-1 defeat at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Of course, that's just baseball. But to Phillies fans, that type of loss heading into a three-game series with the Miami Marlins is worrisome because, for some reason, the Marlins seem to be Philadelphia's kryptonite.

On Monday night, it appeared that Miami was coming to town to once again baffle the Phillies, but baseball is a strange and unpredictable sport.

From the outset, Aaron Nola pitched very well. His seven innings, in which he gave up just two earned runs and struck out six, is something you expect your frontline starter to do. Most see Zack Wheeler as the number one pitcher in the Phillies rotation, and rightfully so. However, Nola's performance this season has been nothing short of impressive. He continued to dazzle on Monday.

The issue quickly became apparent that Miami's starter, Sandy Alcantara, was just a bit better. He dominated his way into the eighth inning, but also gave up two earned runs. He has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season, and looked every bit the part.

Now, onto the weird stuff.

Was it weird that Matt Vierling, who has rarely played third base his entire baseball career, played third base on Monday night? Yes.

How about Vierling stealing second on catcher Jacob Stallings, who won a Gold Glove in 2020, to put himself in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth? Yes.

And what about Rhys Hoskins hitting the walk-off single against Anthony Bass, who boasts a 1.02 WHIP against righties? Also kind of weird.

But that's the unpredictability of baseball, and Philadelphia is now sitting at 31-30 with their Wild Card hopes still very much alive. While nothing is a given in this game, the Phillies having their next seven games split between the Miami Marlins and the Washington Nationals should spell success for this white-hot, reborn ball club.

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