Sunday, Monday, Happy Days

Let's hope that Rhys Hoskins is humming that golden oldie this morning. Just look at his production the last two days: Sunday, down a run to the Twins' Jose Berrios in the bottom of the 6th, his two-run homer powered the Phils past Minnesota. Monday night, it was double the fun with solo blasts in the 6th and 8th innings that gave the Phils their winning margin as they held off the Nationals 4-3.

How happy do you think the third-year slugger feels being back at his natural position, 1st base? With his heavily rebuilt club having won seven of its first nine, Hoskins has joined new teammate Bryce Harper in the performance penthouse. Five homers, 15 RBIs, and an on-base percentage of .535.

Nine games is just five percent of a season. The Phillies aren't selling playoff tickets yet. After all, this is a team that was in 1st place early last August -- and ended the season under the .500 mark.

But you have to like the early signs: better starting pitching bolstered by a respected, veteran catcher; a stronger lineup with experienced hitters joining phamiliar Phillies phaces such as Hoskins, Herrera, Hernandez and Franco; and a manager in Gabe Kapler who admits he has grown past the strategic errors that peppered his rookie year.

And a Happy (Days) Hoskins is back to the form that opened so many eyes in 2017.

(My image of Hoskins is from a Phillies/Mets game last August 16th.)




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