Kosmetik » Rhys Hoskins has quite a knack for being clut

PHILADELPHIA (AP) —ch.Hoskins hit two solo homers http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-marcell-ozuna-jersey , Odubel Herrera hit a two-run shot and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 4-3 on Monday night.Since the start of last season, Hoskins has 25 homers that have either tied a game or given Philadelphia a lead.“I don’t think I bear down more,” Hoskins said. “There’s a ton of confidence knowing in those situations if I keep my heart rate down and treat it like any other at-bat, good things can happen. And if it doesn’t, I have All-Stars behind me.”Kurt Suzuki and Brian Dozier went deep for the Nationals.Bryce Harper was 0 for 3 with a walk in his third game against his former team but helped prevent a run with a perfect relay throw.The Phillies are off to a 7-2 start.“I haven’t had a chance to say this but defense was the story of the game,” manager Gabe Kapler said.Phillies right-hander Vince Velasquez allowed two runs and four hits in five innings in his first start this season. Seranthony Dominguez (1-0) tossed a perfect sixth, Adam Morgan and David Robertson each tossed scoreless innings.Pat Neshek pitched out of trouble in the ninth for his first save.Dozier led off the inning with a homer to cut the deficit to 4-3. Anthony Rendon followed with a double. But left fielder Andrew McCutchen ran down Juan Soto’s drive to left, Ryan Zimmerman grounded out to second and Suzuki flied out to right.Anibal Sanchez (0-1) gave up three runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings in his second start against Philadelphia in five days.“Everything can change by a pitch,” Sanchez said.Hoskins, who hit a two-run homer a 2-1 win over Minnesota on Sunday, gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead in the sixth on his fourth homer. He took Justin Miller deep in the eighth to make it 4-2 .After circling the bases both times, Hoskins did a series of choreographed handshakes with several teammates.“He’s selectively aggressive,” Kapler said. “Those balls weren’t clipped the way he can clip a baseball but they still had enough trajectory.”Washington took a 2-0 lead in the second after Soto lined a double and Suzuki ripped a homer to left.The Phillies tied it in the fourth when J.T. Realmuto hit a single and Herrera followed with a drive to the seats in right-center.Zimmerman was thrown out trying to score from first base on Suzuki’s hit in the fourth when Harper chased the ball down in right-center and quickly fired to shortstop Jean Segura, who threw a strike to catcher Realmuto.“That was awesome,” Velasquez said. “Bryce got it quick. Segura made a nice throw. Little things like that matter most.”Dozier’s homer was his first since signing a $9 million, one-year free agent deal. He totaled 76 homers between 2016-17 before disappointing last season with Minnesota and the Dodgers.SEEING REDSanchez has made four straight starts against Philadelphia going back to his final two outings with the Braves last season. He’s 5-10 career vs. the Phillies.TRAINER’S ROOMNationals: OF Michael Taylor (right knee/hip sprain) was activated from the 10-day injured list. OF Andrew Stevenson was optioned to Triple-A Fresno.Phillies: OF Roman Quinn (right oblique strain) will continue his rehab work in the minors, though the team hasn’t decided whether he will move up to face tougher competition.UP NEXTRHP Aaron Nola (1-0, 7.00 ERA) goes for the Phillies and RHP Stephen Strasburg (1-0, 2.84) starts for the Nationals in a matchup of aces Tuesday night. Nola, who finished third in NL Cy Young award voting last year, got roughed up in Washington last week Carlos Martinez Jersey , allowing six runs in three innings. On the verge of making his MLB debut, Oscar Mercado still returns to Gaither High School to hone his craft"The right field fence at Gaither High School’s Frank Permuy Park displays four prominent jerseys, that of the field’s namesake and former manager, and those of the three former Cowboys to be called up to the Majors.On the edge of the quartet is the only pair of players in the Tampa-area high school’s history to make an appearance in a big league game, each with the number 12. Chad Zerbe, the winning pitcher in Game 5 of the 2002 World Series with the San Francisco Giants, hangs to the left side. On the right side is eight-year MLB catcher, current Tampa Bay Rays manager and Terry Francona prank-war adversary Kevin Cash.Reliever Chris Jones is the fourth Gaither Cowboy on the wall. A 15th round pick by the Indians in 2007, Jones was recalled by the Los Angeles Angels on May 30, 2016, but never made an appearance.The right field fence at Gaither High School’s Frank Permuy Park. Retired jerseys from left to right: Chad Zerbe, Frank Permuy, Chris Jones, Kevin CashAlex HooperDown the left field line, nestled between the home dugout and a freshly mulched stretch of grass outside the park sits a pair of netted batting cages. On a warm Tampa day in March, the current mob of Cowboys prepare for a simulated game in the middle of their regular season.In the four months prior, a former Gaither standout populated that cage, preparing to become the fifth name to be added to that wall.Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the second round of the 2013 draft out of Gaither, Oscar Mercado was the first player ever selected from the school at the high school level, according to Baseball-Reference.Now on the precipice of reaching the highest level with the Indians following a trade midway through the 2018 season, Mercado is known by the majority of the current Cowboys roster as more than a famous alumnus. The future big leaguer still frequents the grounds that will soon bear his name and number Lance Lynn Jersey , en route to putting them there officially, even if he will assuredly not be wearing No. 12 when he makes his major league debut.The Colombian-born Mercado impressed Indians brass with his volume of work to overhaul his swing this offseason, appearing in Cleveland twice at the team’s swing clinics. When those clinics ended, he headed back to Tampa, and back to Gaither, to implement them.Such is the story of the budding outfielder.Tribe general manager Mike Chernoff, in regard to Mercado’s second appearance at the team’s swing clinic, told T.J. Zuppe, “Nobody does that.”Gaither Baseball’s wall of honor, listing all former players to make it to professional baseball.Alex HooperMercado’s former teammate, and current Gaither assistant/director of baseball operations, Hunter Henderson, sang the same tune.“Even the offseasons when he’s in pro-ball, he is here about five or six days a week,” Henderson said. “In high school, he was the first one here, one of the last people to leave. He got out of school early, and he was here about 12:30 every day.“Just unheard of in high school.”Current Gaither head coach Nelson North, an assistant under Permuy during Mercado’s tenure, called the 24-year-old one of the best people he has ever been around. The pair put in shifts seven days a week at the field during his high school days, taking hundreds of groundballs at shortstop.Each knew short was Mercado’s ticket to the draft Mark McGwire Jersey , but North developed a contingency plan.“We used to joke, I used to have him, during BP, just go to the outfield and take some flyballs. ‘You never know. You’re fast enough, you could always be a center fielder,’” he told Mercado. “We used to kind of laugh about it.”It was that speed, regardless of position, that brought scouts and executives to Gaither to watch the toolsy youngster during games and practices alike.“His senior year was absolutely a circus,” North said. “He was under a lot of scrutiny, and I thought that he handled that very well. That’s a lot of pressure for a kid his age.“I guess he withstood it, but I don’t think he enjoyed it.”The numbers were not fantastic either. Statistically speaking, Mercado appeared average at the plate. Among the likes of New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso and Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker at nearby Plant High School, and against the likes of Tampa-area aces Jose Fernandez of Braulio Alonso and Lance McCullers Jr. of Tampa Jesuit, something about Mercado may have looked lacking to the untrained eye.But high school numbers have never been the driving force behind a top pick’s spot in line, and the process is what showed through, even back in 2012. Paired with his effortless athleticism, Mercado was not missing anyone’s eye.“There he went, and there he was,” North said. “I think that was the big thing. He was a big league base-runner as a high school player. The rest had to translate.”Similar to a current Indians standout, North noted the smile that was always present on his star pupil’s face. 0-for-3 or 3-for-3, Mercado was present the next day http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-marcell-ozuna-jersey , taking those ground balls, and occasionally heading to the outfield.With the eyes constantly on him, the flashes of brilliance in other areas began to show more.“He showed signs in BP, a few home runs, some line drives the other way where he started to look like he knew what he was doing,” North said.That was enough for now-Cardinals President of Baseball Ops John Mozeliak to use his second pick, 57th overall, on Mercado.Now what looked like a sure thing in high school will be what ultimately helps the Indians most when Mercado likely arrives later this year. As Francona stresses the importance of taking the extra base in the majors, North pinpointed Mercado’s ability to glide from first to third as the greatest thing from his prep days.What was going on behind the scenes will be the why, when that day finally comes.Make no doubt, that even when he becomes a big leaguer, Mercado will still re-appear at Permuy Park, and he will be welcomed each time.“He’ll always be a part of the Gaither family,” North said. “Not because of me, because that’s just who he is.”It just so happens that the next time Mercado is at his alma mater, those opposite field line drives might be aimed at a banner that reads “Mercado, 13."Alex Hooper