Presented by the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
The Phillies salvaged a game in Seattle in pretty impressive fashion yesterday afternoon. They’re off today before taking on the Angels this weekend.
The Eagles finished training camp yesterday, and after tomorrow’s preseason game, the focus shifts to Week 1 against the Commanders.
August 27 has seen an unlikely hero, Bobby Abreu doing something pretty rare, and Rhys Hoskins joining an elite group.
Unlikely Hero
On this day in 1951, the Phillies swept a doubleheader against the Reds at Shibe Park.
Bill Nicholson got things started in Game 1, hitting a two-run homer while Jocko Thompson pitched a complete-game shutout as the Phillies won 2-0.
In Game 2, Ken Johnson also went the distance, pitching a complete-game shutout of his own.
But the unlikely hero emerged at the plate.
Backup catcher Del Wilber went 3-for-3—and all three of his hits were solo home runs.
Wilber’s three homers accounted for all of the Phillies’ runs as they completed the sweep with a 3-0 victory.
And those three home runs made up three of the eight Wilber hit all season in 1951.
Lefty
On this day in 1980, Pete Rose had three hits and two RBI, while Steve Carlton pitched eight strong innings as the Phillies beat the Dodgers 4-3 at Veterans Stadium.
The victory gave Carlton his 20th win of the season, making him the first pitcher in the majors to reach the 20-win mark that year.
And Carlton was just getting started.
He would finish the season with 24 wins, leading the National League, while also pitching a remarkable 304 innings.
And here’s how different baseball was back then:
Carlton’s 304 innings made him the last pitcher in Major League Baseball history to throw more than 300 innings in a season.
Trivia – Who currently leads MLB pitchers in innings pitched this season with 183.2 innings? (Answer below)
Bobby Hits Two
On this day in 2000, Bobby Abreu tied the game against the Giants with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
The score remained tied all the way until the bottom of the 10th, when Abreu stepped to the plate again.
This time, he hit a walk-off home run.
But not just any walk-off home run.
An inside-the-park home run.
Abreu’s mad dash around the bases gave the Phillies the victory and made him the first Phillies player to hit a walk-off inside-the-park home run since Bob Dernier did it in 1989.
And Dernier wasn’t the only one before Abreu.
Dick Allen also hit a walk-off inside-the-park homer for the Phillies, doing it in 1966.
Rhys Makes History – Twice
On this day in 2017, the Phillies beat the Cubs 6-4 at Citizens Bank Park.
Nick Williams and a rookie named Rhys Hoskins both went deep, but Hoskins had already made his mark earlier in the game.
In the top of the inning, Hoskins became the first Phillies outfielder since Alex Johnson to initiate a triple play.
And it was anything but conventional.
Hoskins appeared to make the catch on a line drive, but he bobbled the ball while transferring it to his throwing hand. The Cubs, thinking the ball had been dropped, were caught completely off guard.
Hoskins alertly threw to second baseman César Hernández, who fired to first baseman Tommy Joseph to complete the rare 7-4-3 triple play.
The umpires reviewed the play, but ultimately determined that Hoskins had made the catch, and the triple play stood.
Rhys wasn’t done.
His home run later in the game was his fifth straight game with a homer, making him the first Phillies rookie—and just the fifth player in franchise history—to homer in five consecutive games.
Hoskins joined some pretty impressive company: Chase Utley, who did it twice, along with Bobby Abreu, Mike Schmidt, and Dick Allen.
Something tells me this kid is going to have a postseason moment eventually.
Trivia Answer – Sandy Alcantara currently leads the majors in innings pitched.
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