SEATTLE -- When
Hoskins has been hitting the ball hard this season, with little to show for it. Coming into Wednesday’s game, he was hitting just .212, with a .413 slugging percentage and a .303 on-base percentage, but he ranked 21st in MLB in hard-hit rate at 51.4 percent, and is 14th in exit velocity with an average of 93.1 mph.
\n\nOn a scale of 1 to Rhys, how pumped are you about that grand slam pic.twitter.com/0ZKMLe1ku1
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 11, 2022
Last week, during the two rainout days in the Phils’ series against the Mets, Hoskins and hitting coach Kevin Long spent more than an hour in the batting cage figuring out how to solve Hoskins’ woes. They focused on simplifying his approach at the plate and using his legs to generate more power.\n\nWith Hoskins going 6-for-13 against the Mariners with three homers and three singles, it seems that the work he did has reaped rewards.\n\n“The rainouts were a little bit of a blessing in disguise for us,” Hoskins said. “It’s not often you either get a couple days to rest and regain some energy, or work. It’s hard to take more swings than normal during the year, because you’ve got to go play.”\n\nHoskins was due for a little bit of luck, and it seems that he finally found some this week in Seattle, which manager Joe Girardi hopes to see continue as the Phillies travel to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers this weekend.\n\nWhen Hoskins gets hot, he can carry the team, like he did during a stretch last season when he put up a 1.035 OPS from May 14 to June 5.\n\n“He’s done it before,” Girardi said. “We need him to continue to swing well and do what he is capable of doing.”
Along with Hoskins, second baseman
Falter’s last start came on Friday at Lehigh Valley, where he allowed two hits and no runs over three innings, with five strikeouts against the Syracuse Mets. This time around, Falter joined the team in Seattle and pitched them to a series win.\n\n“That was awesome,” Falter said. “I just came here, I’ve got a job to do, and I’m glad I got that done. The guys got a W. \\[Catcher\\] Garrett Stubbs called a great game, and Rhys came in clutch with that grand slam. That’s all I needed to do pretty much to get the team going.”\n\nFalter was pulled just one out away from being eligible for the win, which went to