Rhys Hoskins stepped up to the plate with two outs in the ninth inning on Sunday night. The Phillies were down three runs after a disastrous eighth inning in which Hoskins himself made a bone headed play in shallow right field that opened up the floodgates and allowed the Mets to score six runs and take a commanding lead into the ninth inning. Hoskins hit a game-tying, three-run home run to right field. However after he crossed home plate, the umpires reviewed the home run, and changed it back to a double, leaving the Phillies with a one-run deficit and ultimately losing them the game 8-7.

The homer would have been a milestone 100th career home run for Hoskins, but the replay official in New York ruled that the ball had hit the top of the metal railing and ricocheted back onto the field instead. Hoskins trotted back out to second base and Bryce Harper struck out to end the game.

The Phillies fell to 13-15, two games below .500 for the first time this season. They have won only one of their last seven series. During a season filled with frustrating moments, last night’s loss has to land atop the list. According to the CBP rule book, if a ball strikes the top of the outfield fence or scoreboard and goes into the stands, it’s a home run. If the ball strikes the top of the outfield fence or scoreboard and goes back into play, the ball is in play. So by rule, Hoskins blast wasn’t a home run, but that doesn’t make it any easier to swallow.

The Phillies should have never needed Hoskins’ heroics in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs in the game. The Mets were given too many opportunities to score throughout the night and everything imploded for the Phillies in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Mets scored the game-tying run when Jonathan Villar scored from first on a single off Hoskins’ glove. Rhys got the ball in shallow right field as Villar cruised into third.

No one paid attention to Villar as he rounded the bag. Hoskins casually tossed the ball to Nick Maton at secod and Villar sprinted home to score without even a throw to the plate. Hoskins knew he screwed up and had this to say after the game:

“It’s a mental error that can’t happen at any point in the game, certainly not late in the game. I just put my head down. We know that Villar is an aggressive baserunner and you can’t take our eye off him, and I did. I’ve got to run the ball back into the infield and make sure that we get time, so we’ve got a chance to fight for another day.”

The Mets scored four more runs in the inning to take an 8-4 lead into the ninth. Zach Eflin pitched well, throwing six innings and allowing 10 hits, two earned runs, and zero walks, while striking out seven. The Phillies just made way too many mistakes defensively. The eighth inning definitely stands out as the worst mistake, but Andrew McCutchen continued his struggles in left field and didn’t catch a Dominic Smith fly ball in the second inning. Thankfully, Roman Quinn threw out Smith at the plate on the next play to save a run. Bryce Harper allowed a ball to pop out of his glove on a Conforto single in the third, which allowed the Mets to tie the game at one. Alec Bohm also errored on a ground ball from Pete Alonso to extend the inning.

Up Next: The Phillies are now in third place in the NL East, a game behind the Mets and Nats atop of the standings. They will host the Brewers for a four game set starting tonight at 7:05PM. Vince Velasquez will get the start against Brewers right-hander Adrian Houser.

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