August 08, 2022

Who won the week in Philly sports: Rhys Hoskins slugs his way to a hot streak

By Shamus Clancy
PhillyVoice Staff

No one gets hotter and no one gets colder than Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins. Luckily for the Phillies, as they hold onto a playoff spot in the National League, Hoskins is in 🔥 mode. In six games over the last week, the Fightins are 5-1 and Hoskins is destroying baseballs. There were a few worthy candidates with how well the Phils are playing right now, but Hoskins is my choice for the illustrious honor of "who won the week in Philly sports."

Hoskins' stat line in those six games: .294 batting average, .455 on-base percentage, 1.000 slugging percentage, four home runs, 6 RBI

Smash the Nats 👊

The Phillies swept the lowly Nationals in a four-game extended weekend set. Hoskins homered in every single game as the Phils out-scored the Nats 36-12 in the series. That's some embarrassing, 2015 Phillies energy from Washington.

Hoskins had a solo shot on Thursday that tied things up at 2-2 before the Phils eventually pulled off a 5-4 win that was shortened to just five innings because of rain. Huge! Hoskins broke things open on Friday with a first-inning homer that put the Fightins up 1-0, a lead they would never relinquish. Hoskins did the same exact thing on Saturday, as a first-inning dinger put the Phillies up 1-0 before they cruised to an 11-5 win. When Hoskins hit a three-run shot on Sunday, the damage had already been done to a pathetic National team. Hoskins' bomb made things 6-0 before the Phils steamrolled to a 13-1 W.

Vibes 😎

In writing about the Phillies this summer, I've continuously harped on the need for a hitter to take things to another level and carry this squad while Bryce Harper remains sidelined. It's Hoskins right now. Since the beginning of July, Hoskins has an OPS of .893 in 31 games. His .841 OPS for the entire season is the highest among non-Harper Phillies players, almost 40 points higher than Kyle Schwarber. Hoskins has risen to seventh in the National League with 24 home runs (Schwarber remains in the top spot with 34).

The Hunt for Red October 🏁

The Phillies are, as of this writing, the second Wild Card team in the NL with a record of 60-48. Telling a Phillies fan back in May that they would be 12 games over .500 in the second week of August would've resulted in you getting pelted with a whiz wit. Another month and a half of Hoskins balling out like this would completely change the trajectory of his legacy in Philly. Hey, he is already 29! Being the catalyst for the Phillies ending their 11-year playoff drought with the reigning MVP missing significant time would elevate Hoskins' career to a new level.

Runner-up: Darick Hall 💪

The dude is 26 and has played 29 career games, all with the Phils. He has eight home runs in those games, including two in Sunday's win over Washington alone. Big Matt Stairs vibes coming for Hall in October.