Phillies at Reds
Rhys Hoskins has gotten into the swing of things after raising some eyebrows in the Home Run Derby. After going deep in four of his last five contests, Hoskins hopes to continue his good fortune on Thursday as the Philadelphia Phillies (57-44) begin a six-game road trip with the opener of a four-game series versus the Cincinnati Reds (45-57).
Hoskins belted a solo homer and Scott Kingery also went deep as Philadelphia posted a 7-3 triumph over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday afternoon to take the rubber match of its three-game series and improve to 16-8 in its last 24 contests. The 25-year-old Hoskins also went deep in the Phillies' 6-5 victory over the Reds on April 9 while Kingery homered in that contest, belted a grand slam the following day and had the game-ending sacrifice fly in the finale to help Philadelphia complete the sweep. Speaking of home runs, Cincinnati's first-time All-Star Eugenio Suarez went deep in his third straight contest during Wednesday's 7-3 victory over St. Louis. Adam Duvall, who also homered versus the Cardinals, went just 1-for-9 with five strikeouts in the previous series against the Phillies.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, NBCS Philadelphia, FS Ohio (Cincinnati)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies LH Ranger Suarez (major-league debut) vs. Reds RH Tyler Mahle (7-8, 4.32 ERA)
Suarez owns a 3-1 mark with an 0.91 ERA in his last eight minor-league starts, including a stretch of allowing just one run in three starts since being promoted from Double-A Reading to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. "He's shown the ability to get swings and misses in and out of the strike zone," Phillies manager Gabe Kapler told reporters of the 22-year-old. "... There's some courage there. He has a lot of swag on the mound, there's some bravado. I don't think situations get too big for him." Suarez, who is the Phillies' No. 9 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, will serve as the first left-hander to start for Philadelphia since Adam Morgan on Sept. 28, 2016.
Mahle has answered an eight-start unbeaten string with two crushing losses, during which he has permitted 13 runs and 14 hits over eight innings. The 23-year-old has been taken deep three times in his last two trips to the mound after yielding the same number in his previous eight outings. Mahle will be making his 25th career start overall and first versus Philadelphia on Thursday.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cincinnati 1B Joey Votto, who is just 1-for-14 in his last six outings, went 5-for-13 in his previous series versus Philadelphia.
2. The Phillies own a 10-2-1 record in their last 13 series.
3. Reds SS Jose Peraza is 1-for-14 on the heels of an eight-game hitting streak.