Corey Knebel and the Phillies ruin Rhys Hoskins’ big night

As the Philadelphia Phillies continued their series against the Miami Marlins, the team found themselves in an early hole. Zach Eflin, who took the mound against Trevor Rogers, got into some immediate trouble giving up a total of four earned runs in the first inning. From there, Eflin would be quite efficient, but the deficit was already set, and the Phillies were already at a disadvantage.

While the team was down, they were certainly not out, as this new Phillies offense is capable of comebacks, and that’s exactly what they did. A Realmuto grounder sent Kyle Schwarber home as the comeback effort began in the third. As Matt Vierling singled and Kyle Schwarber walked, Rhys Hoskins came to the plate with a mission on his mind. After drawing a batter friendly 3-1 count, Hoskins mashed a four-seamer deep into left-center, tying the game heading into the fifth.

Rhys Hoskins’ impressive game wasn’t over, however, as he would hit an RBI double in the fifth, putting the team up 8-4, and then a solo homer in the eighth to make it 9-8 after the Phillies had already blown their previous lead. It seemed with every screw-up by Philadelphia, Rhys Hoskins had an answer to save the game. Unfortunately, that was not sustainable, as the Phillies would go on to lose the game 11-9.

In spite of the strong comeback effort to take control of the game, Corey Knebel and the Phillies ruined Rhys Hoskins’ big night.

The usual suspects were in full effect in tonight’s loss. Questionable managerial decisions returned ass Zach Eflin was pulled after only 80 pitches, and Jeurys Familia continued to prove that he is unplayable. In spite of this, the Phillies were still able to crawl to a one-run lead, but the letdown wasn’t over yet.

Entering the ninth with the lead, Corey Knebel came into the game. After Alec Bohm made his daily error from third, Knebel walked the next two batters before giving up an RBI single to Garrett Cooper. Andrew Bellati would come in to relieve Knebel, and it looked as though he would be able to maintain the tie heading into the bottom of the ninth.

This was the case until a foul popup by Jesús Aguilar was fumbled by J.T. Realmuto, giving the Marlins slugger another chance at the plate, one which he took full advantage of, doubling into deep right and bringing two runners home. The bottom of the ninth was sadly uneventful for Philadelphia as the team made three fairly quick outs aside from a timely double from Alec Bohm that failed to materialize into anything more.

While this entire loss cannot be placed on Corey Knebel’s shoulders, it is yet another blown save for Knebel making it an early four altogether. It’s clear that the Phillies bullpen is not up to par, including their closer.

The Phillies will wrap up the series tonight as Kyle Gibson and the team look to end things on a positive note before heading to the nation’s capital to face the Nationals.