Fightins' Hoskins hits another walk-off blast

For the third time this season, Rhys Hoskins felt the chilly thrill of a celebratory shower after hitting a walk-off homer. This time, the beverage of choice was water instead of Gatorade.

"It wasn't as sticky," he said. "But it's always fun, always cool to be a part of."

The Phillies' No. 19 prospect set off another celebration, capping a two-homer night with a walk-off shot leading off the 10th inning as Double-A Reading beat New Hampshire, 6-5.

"That's definitely something that is one of the most cool things in the game, rounding the bases in a walk-off," he said. "It's cool to know that the guys are there, waiting for you at home plate, just waiting to celebrate."

Hoskins flied out in his first at-bat but wasted no time in his second. The 23-year-old swatted a 2-0 offering from Fisher Cats starter Casey Lawrence to right field for his 11th homer of the season.

"Took a couple off-speed pitches that I saw pretty early. Then, 2-0, I was just looking for a fastball up and out over the plate and I got it. I was able to put some barrel on it," he said. "Things are slowly coming along, but it's getting better every night, so good progress going forward."

After being retired in his next two at-bats, Hoskins came up in the 10th, just looking to keep the game going, as Fightin Phils hitting coach Frank Cacciatore has focused recently on players "passing the baton." Instead, the Sacramento State product ended the game. On the first pitch from Danny Barnes, he homered to left.

"I was looking for a pitch, something up that I can hit hard and, kind of like the third inning, I was able to get some barrel on it and put a good swing on it," Hoskins said. "It's awesome; especially tonight, we had a big crowd. It's always cool for the fans and the people of Reading to see an exciting game like that. And it's good for the team moving forward. We got some momentum rolling and, hopefully, we can keep it going."

All three of Hoskins' hits in the past two games have been homers, giving him five in his last 10 contests.

"Just trying to take it at-bat by at-bat. I've definitely missed some pitches in other at-bats, but that's one of the things I've been focusing on, is limiting my misses," he said. "So the last couple days, I've gotten some good pitches to hit and didn't miss them."

It was the the Fightins' eighth walk-off win this season and second in as many nights. Hoskins slugged a solo shot in the ninth against New Hampshire on April 23 and a game-winning grand slam in the ninth on May 24 against Erie.

"We've done it a lot lately. Two or three or four different guys have done it this year, so it's fun," he said. "The team that we're on is a lot of fun."

A key member of that team is Roman Quinn, who doubled and singled twice for his fourth three-hit effort in seven games. The Phillies' seventh-ranked prospect has 14 hits, seven RBIs and seven runs scored during that span.

"Every time he gets on, I feel like he's going to score. Somehow he's going to get to second, whether it's a stolen bag or someone moving him over and then, eventually, I feel like he's scored every time he's gotten on in the last week or so," Hoskins said. "So a table-setter like that is fun for an offense like we have. It just makes the rest of the guys in the lineup, it makes our jobs easier."

Reliever Joely Rodriguez (2-0) worked around a leadoff single by Blue Jays No. 28 prospect Dwight Smith Jr. in the 10th to pick up the victory.