Rhys Hoskins absolutely opened the floodgates for the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday afternoon.
Nursing a 1-0 lead in Game 3 of the NLDS over the NL East pennant-winning Atlanta Braves, Hoskins stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the third with one out and runners on first and second. Rookie pitcher Spencer Strider made the mistake of delivering a fastball down the middle of the plate.
Hoskins made him pay.
He absolutely crushed it to left-center field for a three-run homer — the first postseason dinger of his career — which opened up Philadephia’s lead in Game 3. The series was tied at one game apiece entering Friday’s game.
To add insult to injury, Hoskins delivered an absolutely filthy bat spike to cap things off.
WELCOME TO THE PLAYOFFS, RHYS
THE INSANE CALL BY SCOTT FRANZKE pic.twitter.com/BOJZxztnXt
— Nick Piccone (@_piccone) October 14, 2022
Here’s a different angle of the emphatic slam.
OH MY, @rhyshoskins. 😱#Postseason pic.twitter.com/LkEHjnH3H5
— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2022
Philadelphia finished the regular season with an 87-75 record, good for just a third-place finish in the NL East. The Phillies snagged the final Wild Card spot over the Milwaukee Brewers by just one game, and the advanced to the NLDS by virtue of a two-game sweep on the road against the NL Central champion St. Louis Cardinals.
Hoskins’ shot put his team in good position to take a one-game lead in this best of five series.
