Rhys Hoskins and Kyle Schwarber Go Cold in Canada, Philadelphia Phillies Suffer

The Philadelphia Phillies were swept by the Toronto Blue Jays in a mid-week series. Philadelphia’s offense could muster just five runs on nine hits during the quick two-game set.

The Blue Jays had been struggling before the Phillies came to town, losing nine of theit last ten games. Philadelphia, on the other hand, had been playing well until this past week. They won six of eight to start July, but have now lost four straight.

Toronto scored 12 runs on 25 hits during the series, and every player in their starting lineup reached base safely in both games. Stars like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk, and Teoscar Hernández led the Blue Jays to victory, while supporting players like Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Matt Chapman aided the cause.

The Phillies, meanwhile, received next to nothing from the two hitters atop their lineup. Kyle Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins combined to go 0-for-16 in the series with six strikeouts.

Hoskins did score one of Philadelphia’s two runs in the second game, but it’s hard to give him much credit for reaching on an error and scoring on a home run.

Schwarber did not reach base at all in Toronto. The closest he came was on a deep line drive to center field that George Springer turned into a highlight reel catch.

Without Schwarber and Hoskins, the offense on this baseball team doesn’t pack much punch, and that’s exactly what fans saw over the past two days. Without those two setting the table, the rest of the lineup doesn’t know how to feast.

Only four Phillies hitters have put up above average offensive numbers this season (min. 100 PA): Bryce Harper, Jean Segura, Kyle Schwarber, and Rhys Hoskins. Two of those players will be out of commission for the foreseeable future.

Over the past thirty days, Alec Bohm, Darick Hall, and Matt Vierling have performed well too — although not nearly as well as Hoskins and Schwarber — but none of them are consistent, reliable offensive threats at this point in their careers. Each one has spent time in the minors over the past calendar year.

Veterans Nick Castellanos and Didi Gregorius have been dreadful as of late, while Odúbel Herrera has been practically unplayable.

J.T. Realmuto continues to be an above-average hitter for a catcher but a below-average hitter overall, a far cry from the offensive production he put up over his first three seasons in Philadelphia. Garrett Stubbs is still having a good season, although he’s starting to show why he is a still just a backup catcher.

Bryson Stott has been showing promising signs as of late, but until the Blue Jays series he had yet to find his stride, and his season-long numbers are still terrible, even after he went 3-for-7 with two home runs in Toronto.

So, with Harper and Segura injured, this team is heavily relying on Hoskins and Schwarber to lead the offense. That didn’t happen in Toronto, and the Phillies floundered as a result.

Hoskins and Schwarber are going to have to carry this team for quite a while. It would be great if Silver Sluggers Castellanos and Realmuto could pick up some of the slack, but it’s getting to be too late in the season to simply expect either of them to turn it around.

The young guys can help — Stott and Vierling have certainly done so lately — but it’s far too soon to count on them to be major contributors.

Until Harper and Segura return, Philadelphia need Hoskins and Schwarber to keep tearing the cover off the ball. If they don’t, the Phillies are in for plenty more disappointing losses like these past two in Toronto.

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