MILWAUKEE — Rhys Hoskins has been at the center of several big moments during the course of his career. But after having to watch those kinds of moments from afar last season while he was forced out of action by an ACL injury, Hoskins knew not to take what happened Saturday night for granted. The veteran first baseman’s three-run home run in the seventh inning wiped out a one-run deficit as the Milwaukee Brewers rallied late to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-3, at American Family Field. The free-agent signing of Rhys Hoskins in the offseason continues to have a positive impact on the Brewers so far.
Rhys Hoskins comes up clutch to put the @Brewers ahead! pic.twitter.com/cLUmiIpXYX
— MLB (@MLB) May 12, 2024
Rhys Hoskins Continues to Make Major Impact on Brewers
“Those are the types of moments you picture as a kid,” Hoskins said. “Being where your feet are is the key there but after watching a lot of those moments last year, so just to kind of be right back in the middle of those is a ton of fun.”
It was exactly that kind of moment the Brewers had in mind when they signed Hoskins to a two-year, $34 million contract in late January. While he sat out all of last season recovering from his torn ACL, the 137 home runs and .846 OPS he’d compiled in his six pre-injury seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies were the type of damage Milwaukee’s offense had been lacking the last few years.
Coming into Saturday’s game, Rhys Hoskins had lived up to the hype, making an offensive impact for the Brewers with a slash line of .230/.333/.460 along with five doubles, eight homers, 23 RBI, and a .794 OPS in 147 plate appearances.
“He’s been huge for us this year,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “But the kind of person he is and how he is as a leader in the clubhouse is even better. He’s a really special man. You pull for guys like that to do it.”
Yelich Gets A Break
Christian Yelich was not in the lineup Saturday night, but the decision to hold him out was less about the back issues that sidelined him for a month than about trying to make sure he doesn’t miss another month later in the season.
“It’s a touchy situation,” Murphy said. “You want nothing more than to keep him healthy. That’s No. 1. So yes, you’ve gotta be careful. He’s dealt with this for years so he can kind of understand where he’s at. We’re going to listen to him. He’s pretty smart about it.”
Sitting Yelich isn’t an easy decision. After going 0-for-5 Wednesday against Kansas City in his first game back, Yelich went 5-for-8 with a triple and two RBIs in the Brewers’ first two games against the Cardinals and is slashing .346/.414/.692 with five homers, 13 RBI, and a 1.106 OPS for the season.
Chourio Does, Too
Jackson Chourio was also out of the lineup for a fourth straight game Saturday as Murphy tries to give the highly-touted prospect a chance to snap out of an offensive funk.
The outfield phenom started his first big league season in impressive fashion, slashing .259/.305/.444 with a .750 OPS through his first 13 games. Since then, though, Chourio’s bat has gone cold (.186/.226/.254, .480 OPS) leading to Murphy’s decision to give the kid a break.
“Jackson’s gonna be fine, he’s going to be a good player,” Murphy said. “This little breather we’re giving him here is an indication of perspective and things like that. It’s about the Brewers first and not about Jackson Chourio, but Jackson’s a big part of this and this little period of not playing on the front end (of the season) will be beneficial for him.”
Turning the Tables
With victories in the first three games of the four-game series, the Brewers have won eight straight and 11 of their last 12 meetings against St. Louis, including all six games this season.
“We’re just playing good baseball right now and we were the last time we played them, too, down in St. Louis,” Hoskins said. “I think it’s just the type of baseball we’re playing.
The eight-game winning streak is the longest by either team in the history of the rivalry, which technically began with the 1982 World Series, but didn’t become a regular occurrence until the advent of interleague play in 1997 and then became an annual fixture a year later when the Brewers switched from the American to National League.
Fun With Numbers
5 — Number of Brewers players to make their MLB debut this season
10 — Number of different starting pitchers the Brewers have used in 2024, the most in MLB this season
29 — Number of pitchers used by the Brewers this season
39 — Number of players used by the Brewers this season
Up Next
The Brewers and Cardinals wrap up their four-game series Sunday afternoon at American Family Field. Right-hander Bryse Wilson (2-1, 2.40 ERA) gets the start for Milwaukee while Miles Mikolas (2-5, 6.43) goes for St. Louis.
Photo Credit: © Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
