How the Rhys Hoskins fits in the game stole a win for the Phillies

Jose Berrios, it must be said, is mean. It was – it's still – my pre-season choice for the ALYY Young Young Award winner, and Sunday afternoon did not really dispel those ideas. Berrios barely allowed, more than six innings, way contact, not to mention anything badly hit, and Zach Eflin's efforts seemed to go straight to the point.

Then came Hoskins' third trip to the plate against Berrios, and everything changed. A defeat has turned into a victory in a jiffy. But this AB would not have been possible without Hoskins' ability to adapt to pitchers, which he brought with him throughout his minor league career and who is playing against some of the best players.

Premier AB

After a march from Bryce Harper, Hoskins came to the set with two on and one. Minnesota had a 1-0 lead thanks to Max Kepler's home and Berrios was trying to settle.

Pitch 1: 0-0 Fastball

A toad that rides, but stays high. Berrios and catcher Jason Castro were looking to overthrow Hoskins, but the pitch starts above the surface and does not tease Rhys' swing.

Pitch 2: 1-0 Curveball

Berrios is not afraid to launch his excellent two-shot curve, no matter how many. He grabs Rhys here to level the account.

If you look closely at Hoskins' head after the field arrives, you can see him screaming something, probably because this curve was absolutely ripe for a crash if he expected it.

Pitch 3: 1-1 Curveball

Hoskins follows this one well, fouling it directly in the back. It's almost exactly the same pitch as the previous one, but Rhys's barrel is quite far from the outside edge. Berrios strikes his goal with barely a movement of Castro's mitten.

Pitch 4: 1-2 Fastball

A double-shot lead runs too far inland. Harper eventually stole the second goal on the pitch, after enough time at Berrios to make a good jump despite Berrios' quick delivery, Castro's hardness and quick delivery.

Hoskins, again, sees that the pitch is starting almost out of the zone – no matter how he's going to break through – and does not seem tempted to suggest it. He recoils and re-levels the account, now with a man in a scoring position.

Pitch 5: 2-2 Fastball

They come back inside with a fast ball, although it comes out of the hand above the center of the plate, which is enough for Hoskins to be defensive with two shots. He is in front and the cause is wrong.

Pitch 6: 2-2 Curveball

This one gets Rhys to hunt, ending the AB in a dam.

What is so devastating at Berrios is that his fast-breaking arm-and his dipping curve and gloves-have these two completely different breaks that strangely resemble the hand.

While the ball is at a similar point in the air and two completely different breaks are coming in, Hoskins is deceived. Notice, it was consecutive shots. Berrios makes the most of the first match.

Second AB

The Phils were still down for the fourth inning – thanks to Andrew McCutchen's Hose Report – Hoskins was back for a rematch.

Pitch 1: 0-0 Curveball

Berrios starts this meeting back, dropping a hook to start. Like the 1-0 field in the first AB, it's a cashable land … if Hoskins was looking for it.

Pitch 2: 0-1 Curveball

Another Rhys would probably like to be back. He timed it quite well, but could only make it appear on a vacant lot. The first base player of the twins, C.J. Cron, missed the jack and the attacker continued.

Pitch 3: 0-2 Fastball

A lead that remains elevated. Hoskins is usually quite good at high temperature firing, so he does not seem so distressed with this one.

Pitch 4: 1-2 Fastball

Berrios and Castro seemed really determined to try to break Hoskins inside. This one, again, straddles too far to cajole Hoskins in pursuit, so the count goes to 2-2.

Pitch 5: 2-2 Curveball

Mmm, that's it again. Berrios forces Hoskins to pursue another buried curve, which represents two strikeouts. I let this gif run a bit long to capture Hoskins' exclamation something, again, after missing this one. Check how his headset sounds as he starts to move away.

And you can understand the frustration. Hoskins, although he missed this curve and made two more shots at this point, synchronized things well. He is not completely fooled, but some of these terrains – this last curve in particular, phew – are simply disgusting. I do not know what any hitter is supposed to do with this curve ball.

The dashboard reads: Berrios 2, Hoskins 0.

Third AB

In the sixth inning, McCutchen headed for the goal, but Segura stepped out and Harper went down to bring Hoskins back to the plate with two others. Cutch, to his credit, rose from first to third thanks to a defensive gap and (largely) McCutchen's means.

So the scene was ready.

Pitch 1: 0-0 Curveball

Berrios and Castro wanted to start this AB as they had started the second, but the curve remained high and Hoskins let pass for a ball.

Pitch 2: 1-0 Curveball

Doubling because he can, Berrios asks this one to cut the outer half of the area and the count goes to 1-1.

The ability of this battery to back Hoskins back makes it even more difficult. Hoskins won in two of the three APs, and instead of being rewarded with a quick shot to win, he had two sharp turns.

Pitch 3: 1-1 Fastball

Intended to be another fast ball inside, this one is ripped off. Not near. Hoskins goes back into the account.

Pitch 4: 2-1 Fastball

I think at this point, all the pitching behind Berrios was in Hoskins' head. Behind the count, Berrios finally throws a fast ball and … Hoskins looks at her. He leans over the plate as if he were looking for a ball that was starting to flee, but instead, she returns and marries the area.

Pitch 5: 2-2 Curveball

A pivoting ground. Hoskins had already fallen victim to two buried curved bullets, and the Twins' battery obviously thought to make three against three. But Hoskins understands it, understands how close he is to getting away from the area and resists.

The pitch above is emblematic not only of Hoskins' ability to work, but also because he learns of the terrain he sees and adapts his approach. Curve 2-2 above is not Berrios' best bet, but it begins its course towards the plate, as if it might touch the area, and a less serious hitter would probably seek to pursue and protect.

Hoskins is not a minor hitter. The account is complete.

Pitch 6: 3-2 Curveball

I made a restless noise while watching this live field. He seems to be close to where Castro had spotted, but he is stuck. It is a clever field, even as much as it moves. Hoskins is on it, but only passes it.

Pitch 7: 3-2 Fastball

A fastball inside that catches the plate, but not enough so that Rhys can really do a lot of things he hoped it would be fair. He commits a fault on the third camp.

Pitch 8: 3-2 Curveball

Another I would call hanged! And Hoskins commits it again!

At this point, I imagined that Rhys had seen the only truly exploitable terrain he would see during the rest of the appearance of this plate. Berrios must have thought that he was not locating his curve as he wished. Castro and he might have chosen to burn a lot instead of making another mistake in the area …

Pitch 9: 3-2 Curveball

… and they could not quite do it.

This is, in no way, a wrong curve ball. This pitch would be called a shot if Hoskins let it pass. It is just above the knee, above the outer half, and designed to avoid good contact. Baseball does not always work in strict accordance with the laws of logic.

Hoskins, in a posture reminiscent of Jeff Franceour in 2015, is bent over the waist and tries, in a way, to get this ball out of the field. You can credit the Citizens Bank Park, if you will, but as this is a Phillies blog, I will defer this credit to Hoskins weight training during the off season.

Fields like Field # 9 above are not the type to expect to be defeated for a draw circuit … by a right-handed batter.

But we are there. Hoskins, having seen and / or switched to 11 curves before, got a twelfth and did not miss it. The fact that Hoskins was able to do it is pretty impressive. Keep eating your Wheaties, Rhys. But perhaps even more impressive is the unpublished story that took place on these 20 terrains: Rhys learned how the curve followed, knew where it would touch the area once out of Berrios' hands , and only then was able to make enough contacts to get one out for a starting lobster.

Hoskins is a smart hitter. He scans and absorbs the arsenals of the pitchers, and although he never becomes the average batting league leader, he is skilled enough to make those adjustments during the match for his account to count, if that's the case. 39; is all he gets a double later in this game). On Sunday, he fought against one of the emerging stars of the game and won the match against his team.

Just another day at the court.