The 110-mph blast was his first at the major league level and gave the Phillies a lead. For an encore, he crushed another home run in the seventh that landed in the seats in left-center field.
"I think it's something that, obviously, you dream about," Hoskins said. "You dream about getting here. But you dream about hitting a home run here. I don't know. I don't really remember it, to be completely honest."
Hoskins' two blasts traveled a combined 811 feet and his performance marked the first time since Scott Rolen in 1996 that a Phillie hit his first two career home runs in the same contest.
As he walked down the dugout steps following his first homer he began high-fiving the air, smiling as teammates ignored him for nearly half a minute before mobbing him in a corner.
"I knew what was happening," Hoskins said. "I started laughing, I knew what was coming."
The fact Hoskins hit a pair with a sizable cheering section of friends and family that made the trek south from his home town of Sacramento made the night even sweeter.
"It's something I'll have for the rest of my life," Hoskins said.
But, the Phillies lost.
Jerad Eickhoff lasted just five innings and the Padres pieced together a four-run sixth highlighted by Jose Pirela's two-run single en route to a 7-4 win over the Phillies.
Eickhoff allowed the leadoff batter to reach base in four of his five innings and needed 92 pitches to get through his five innings. Ricardo Pinto relieved him to start the sixth but imploded, surrendering four runs allowing the Padres to put the contest out of reach. The Padres batted around in the inning and Odubel Herrera threw to the wrong base on a sacrifice-fly, encapsulating in a matter of minutes the frustrations of an entire season.
The Phillies have now lost four of their last five.
"It wasn't exactly how you draw it up," Eickhoff said. "I got the first hitter out in the first inning and that was it. That was frustrating, and not being able to go deep in the game knowing these bullpen guys have been kind of taxed a little bit. For me, that was the most frustrating thing."
As for Hoskins, he left the ballpark with both home run balls and memories to last a lifetime. In a season void of success on the field, his arrival signifies a sense of hope for the future.
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Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PGordonPBR
