Rhys Hoskins’ home run lifts Phillies over Twins, 2-1

Jose Berrios, after mystifying the Phillies all afternoon, was just a pitch away Sunday from completing yet another scoreless inning. The Twins right-hander needed to find just one more strike to put away Rhys Hoskins for the final out of the sixth inning.

But it is that final strike, as Berrios soon learned in the Phillies’ 2-1 win, that Hoskins usually makes the hardest for a pitcher to earn. Hoskins watched a curveball to work a full count and the battle was ready to begin. He fouled off three straight pitches, refusing to give in.

“I think he understands the value of fouling off a pitcher’s pitch,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “I don’t think that’s something you think about necessarily right before the pitch is delivered but I do think he has a knack for it. And then eventually, you get a mistake if you can foul off a pitcher’s tough pitch.”

The mistake -- a curveball that dropped over the plate -- came and Hoskins reached low to crush it to left-center for a two-run homer. The Phillies, finally, had cracked Berrios and it was because Hoskins refused to break. The home run was all the runs the Phillies needed.

Hoskins was sitting on a fastball, but was ready to adjust if Berrios hung a curveball. It was the 11th full-count homer of his career, which is the fourth-most in the majors since Hoskins debuted in 2017. He has a .963 OPS when facing a full-count as it almost seems like Hoskins is more comfortable when the pressure is highest.

“The longer the at-bat goes, the more pitches I see, the more comfortable I get,” Hoskins said.

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The win, Kapler said, was a “really important game for the direction of our baseball team” as it showed that the Phillies could win without scoring eight runs. They have begun a season for the first time since 2011 by winning or splitting their first three series.

Zach Eflin allowed a leadoff homer to start the game but battled to pitch seven strong innings. Eflin struck out five, walked none, and allowed six hits. He threw 95 pitches after six innings but Kapler allowed him to pitch the seventh. Eflin needed just 10 pitches to record his final three outs.

David Robertson, Adam Morgan, and Hector Neris combined for six no-sweat outs as the beleaguered bullpen made it look easy. Andrew McCutchen, who scored on Hoskins’ home run, made an excellent throw from left field to nab a runner at home in the fourth inning.

The Phillies built a powerhouse lineup this winter and rode it to their first five wins. They will likely win more games this season by outlasting opponents than they will grinding out low-scoring affairs. But when they scored just two runs Sunday, their sixth win of the season was still in reach.

“We need to be in those games,” Hoskins said. “Those games are going to show up later in the season, show up in October. Being put in those situations early in the season is going to be helpful down the road.”

McCutchen began the sixth inning with a walk, becoming just the second Phillies batter in the game to lead off an inning on base. The Phillies finally had some hope against Berrios, who used a strong curveball to rack up seven strikeouts in six innings. Jean Segura popped out and Bryce Harper grounded out to make two quick outs.

The threat seemed diffused until McCutchen wisely sprinted to third base when the Twins threw out Harper at first. Hoskins, now with a bit of momentum, came to the plate. But that appeared to disappear when Hoskins watched two of Berrios’ pitches be called strikes. Berrios was just one pitch away from escaping. But Hoskins would soon have the pitcher just where he wanted him. The advantage belonged to Hoskins and the Phillies would soon have all they would need.

“I actually thought Buxton caught it,” Hoskins said of watching Twins center fielder Byron Buxton chase after his two-run homer. “That’s what kind of Buxton does, flying all over the place, super good athlete. I saw him stick his foot in the wall and get his glove above the fence. I thought ‘Oh my god, did he just make that play?’ But it was too far out of his reach and we had the lead.”