Rhys Hoskins has struggled with his bat through the postseason, but it was a defensive miscue in Game 2 on Wednesday night that deflated the Phillies.
Matt Olson hit a grounder to Hoskins at firstbase in the sixth inning and the ball glanced off his glove and through to the outfield, allowing Ronald Acuna Jr. to score from second to break a scoreless tie. The Braves added two more runs in the frame enroute to a 3-0 win.
“Yeah, that’s a play I’ve made before, I’ll make again, didn’t make it tonight,” Hoskins said. “I just misjudged the speed with which it was hit. I thought he hit it harder, and he didn’t.”
Zack Wheeler pitched well for the Phillies before things unraveled with two outs in the sixth. He hit Acuna with a pitch and then walked Dansby Swanson. Olson then drove in Acuna before Austin Riley and Travis d'Arnaud followed with singles to each push across a run.
“Just not making my pitches,” Wheeler said. “I went back-to-back sliders to Olson. I felt like I executed that. He swung over it. It was down the middle and right in his bat path. It was execution. To d’Arnaud, I left a slider up over the middle. I went from spiking them to leaving them over the middle. I take pride in that kind of stuff.”
Kyle Schwarber struggled at the plate, finishing 0-for-4 on the night. He's hitless in 16 at-bats this postseason.
“For me, you’ve got to be able to put the ball in play,” he said. “I’m the guy at the top of the lineup. I’ve got to be able to get on base for these guys. I don’t feel bad or anything up at the plate, so I just have to make the adjustments and go from there. Put in a good day’s work and then be ready to go on Friday.”
The two clubs now travel to Philadelphia for Game 3, marking the first postseason game to be in Philadelphia since 2011.
“We weren’t able to put any runs over, but you have to be excited,” Schwarber said. “It’s going to be a great atmosphere and that’s going to be on our side. It’s not the No. 1 scenario. We’d like to go back 2-0, but it’s a pretty good place to be at still.”
