NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: PHILLIES VS PADRES

October 22, 2022

Rhys Hoskins

Citizens Bank Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Postgame 4 Press Conference

Phillies - 10, Padres - 6

Q. Rhys, I think it was before Game 1 of the DS, and you said because of everything you guys had been through this year, you weren't afraid of a challenge. A 4-0 deficit in the first inning, did it feel like that's not as big of a deal because of everything you guys have been through so far?

RHYS HOSKINS: Yeah, for sure, and I think especially right in the first inning. We hadn't even gotten to hit yet. We knew we had 27 outs left.

And just the confidence we have in ourselves as an offensive group, we knew the game was not over by any means. Obviously huge to come out and punch back right away in the first inning. I think those runs are huge. Adding the third run, making it a one-run game immediately just gets us right back in the game.

Q. For a 6 seed that was up 2-1 in the NLCS, you were the only guy in the lineup whose name got booed. You got booed going into the box. You've had a couple of rough days in the field. What was it like to be in that moment, and what was the feeling after the first home run and second home run?

RHYS HOSKINS: I mean, the feeling and the focus is all on the field. Boo, no boo, cheer, like the crowd was a factor tonight.

Yeah, like it's about winning games. That's it. Regardless of how it happens, who gets booed, who doesn't get booed, who makes the hits, who makes the pitches, it's win. It's win. That's always the focus.

Q. Your top five hitters really carried you on a night where, if you look at the pitching situation even before the game, it looks like your top five hitters are going to have to carry you. Is it pretty gratifying that you guys did kind of what you're paid to do?

RHYS HOSKINS: Sure, always. Regardless of who's on the mound for them, for us. It's our job essentially at the top of the lineup to kind of set the tone and get on base for the guys in the middle.

Those guys drive in runs. They have all year. Schwarber and I, I thought, did a good job of getting on base and setting the tone. Schwarber was on, what, three times?

The at-bat by him in whatever it was, the sixth, fifth, where he fake bunts 3-1, like you're never going to see Kyle Schwarber do that, not in the regular season. This guy just wants to win games, find any way on base. He knew we needed a little bit of a rally.

It's just good baseball. It's fun to be a part of.

Q. Rhys, you talk about setting the tone and how big the crowd is. Your two home runs tonight came at points where the game might get away, and down too far in the first, you could lose the crowd. How much more special does it make those that you kept the crowd in it with those two hits?

RHYS HOSKINS: Yeah, it's big. We knew the crowd was going to be a factor. We're confident in that. We saw that in the NLDS. And we feel like it's a big part of when you get those innings rolling, you get a couple guys on, it gets a little louder. You get the one big hit, it gets louder, and that's where you can really snowball things.

We're not new to scoring runs in bunches, but in the playoffs when things are so much tighter and more intense, the crowd is one way to kind of let that snowball happen, and we saw it twice tonight.

Q. You talk about winning and the team and all that, and that's been the focus. With all you went through the past six years and all you put in, you put yourself on the list with guys like Utley and Howard with a multihomer postseason game. Does that mean anything to you?

RHYS HOSKINS: Of course it does. I have an appreciation for baseball history, but more so an appreciation for Phillies history. Being in the postseason, there's a lot of talk about how it's gone in the past here, which is awesome. It's great experience. It's great stories to hear and draw back on.

But yeah, humbling for sure, an honor. These are Phillies greats, potentially future Hall of Famers. Good list to be on for sure.

Q. You said the morning after -- you signed Harper a while ago -- that you looked at that '08 photo, and you said you're tired of hearing about '08, you want to live it? Is this what this month's been like?

RHYS HOSKINS: It feels like we're living it, yeah. The red towels, it's deafening loud, right? Like, yeah, just the whole scene. And as soon as you step on the field, really in batting practice, you can just kind of feel the electricity building.

I need some more. I need some more of it.

Q. And the tear that Bryce is on, is that the kind of production you imagined that you were adding? You think back to years ago, you're adding a superstar, and here he is.

RHYS HOSKINS: You have a guy who has a chance to go out and win MVP every single year. There's not that many of those guys on the face of the earth that can do that at the highest level.

It's incredible to see him really perk up and do this on the biggest stage in this game. I'm sure he's got more in store for us because that's the type of ballplayer he is.

It's been awesome to see what he's doing in the dugout as well and keeping guys going. Obviously he's rolling, but just to have that energy in the dugout when he can't be on the field, I think has been a big factor for a lot of us.

Q. Rhys, you're one win away from the World Series. Can you put into words what that means to you?

RHYS HOSKINS: No. First timer, right? I'm just soaking it all in as it's coming. I didn't want to get too far ahead of ourselves last night about being two games away. Here we are with a chance to close out the NLCS at home.

I've said this a couple times in the last couple of I days, and I'm sorry it's getting redundant. You can't write it better for the guys in that room, for the staff, for everybody in this organization, but I think most importantly for the city. Yeah, you can't write it better. I can't imagine what tomorrow is going to be like.

Q. Just wondering if anybody said anything going into the dugout first inning? As you guys come in down 4-0.

RHYS HOSKINS: A lot of us said 27 outs. Thomper echoed the same thing. We've been down before. We knew with a bullpen game, the possibility of multiple guys having to be put in positions that they're not used to being in, that we were going to have to slug. We did that tonight.

But just Thomper's confidence and belief in us, just echoing that 27 outs is a lot of game left.

Q. Rhys, throughout this season, you guys have always talked about how resilient this team is and what you guys have gone through over this season, I guess to get there. How much of that showed tonight when you were down 4-0. And then down again 6-4.

RHYS HOSKINS: Like I said, resilient group, no doubt. But I think to do it on the stage we're in right now should give us all the confidence in the world that no matter the lead, no matter when it is in the game, we feel like we have a chance. As an offense, that's an outstanding thing to have.

Q. Sorry to ask you to condense your entire career into an answer. You've been through a lot of stages with this team with the struggles and the sort of excitement and expectation and that 2019 off-season, the late collapses. We see the results, but can you talk about the evolution of the team during your career other than just the results?

RHYS HOSKINS: Yeah, it's obviously been building for a long time. There's not that many of us here that were here in 2017, but I think all of us would say that the changes that have been made throughout the last four, five, six years were all made with a purpose.

The purpose started with John Middleton, who wants to win more than anything in the world. You've seen that over the last couple years. We always have a chance to win.

A lot of it, like you said, is behind closed doors. It's the staff. It's the R&D department. It's the strength and conditioning. It's the nutritionist. It's all of these things that are being put into place to make us players have the best chance to succeed out on the field.

Guys that come in from other organizations, if we were missing something, it's about the organization being open-minded and all ears, just really to put us in the best position to succeed.

Q. Is the delayed gratification everything you hoped it would be?

RHYS HOSKINS: I'll always hope it won't take as long as it has, but it's blown every thought and expectation that I had out of the water.