Fightin' Phils come from behind again to stun LA

PHILADELPHIA -- Bryce Harper pumped his fist in the air after he dove into second base. One batter later, Rhys Hoskins threw a pretty good uppercut to the sky as he danced back toward first to cap off a four-run seventh inning.

At the final stop following a rollercoaster ride of a homestand and after a pulsating come-from-behind 7-6 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers before a crowd of 38,043 at Citizens Bank Park, there was a sense of emotional relief for the two biggest sluggers on the Phillies.

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“Obviously, we've gotten hit in the mouth a couple of times throughout the course of the season, but we seem to bounce back,” Hoskins said after his ninth game-winning RBI of the season. “They beat us the first game pretty well [16-2 on Monday night]. To be able to come back after that and split with one of the best teams in the National League does a lot for the confidence of this club. Especially today.”

If the Phillies were looking for a building block to use for their push toward a postseason spot, two come-from-behind wins in the span of three days against the team with the best record in the National League would probably be a good place to start.

It allowed Philadelphia (50-47) to earn a four-game split with Los Angeles. The victory also represented another chance to gain some momentum before heading to Pittsburgh for the start of a three-game series against the Pirates at PNC Park on Friday night.

“That's one of the best teams in all of baseball, if not the best,” said Harper, who went 6-for-13 in the series against the Dodgers with three doubles, a homer and seven RBIs. “For us to be able to get that split today after a long night last night -- they're tired, we're tired -- we had to go out there tonight and really do our job, and we were able to do that and get that split.”

“It’s a good club over there,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the Phillies. “They played with urgency, which is good. Credit to them and [Phillies manager] Gabe [Kapler].”

Philadelphia was able to break through against the Dodgers’ bullpen in the seventh inning, taking advantage of some control issues from Caleb Ferguson, who hit Adam Haseley and walked pinch-hitter Roman Quinn while nursing a 5-3 lead. Two hitters later, Jean Segura cut the deficit to 5-4 with a bouncer up the middle off Dylan Floro.

Joe Kelly came in to face Harper, who turned on the second pitch and hit a line-drive single to right that brought in Quinn with the tying run and moved Segura to third when Cody Bellinger committed a fielding error. Hoskins would follow with a chopper just inside the first-base bag that scored Segura and Harper on an 0-2 fastball down and away from the right-handed hitter.

“I just tried to simplify,” Hoskins said. “[Kelly] had shown the ability to throw the ball for strikes last night and today. He chose the heater route and once I got to two strikes, I tried to simplify as much as possible -- see ball, hit ball.”

Hoskins had expressed frustration in a meeting with Kapler earlier about some missed opportunities that have taken place for him during the Phillies’ slump.

“I think Rhys takes losses hard,” Kapler said. “He appreciates his personal successes and the success of our club. He knows how to stay even, not get too high or too low. He wants to contribute to the success of the Philadelphia Phillies. He wants to contribute personally and he roots really hard for his teammates.”

Haseley hit his first Major League homer when he connected on a second-inning shot to right off Dodgers starter Ross Stripling. He is expected to see the bulk of the playing time with the oblique injury to Jay Bruce that landed the Phillies’ outfielder on the injured list on Tuesday.

“He’s going to get opportunities and he’s not going to be a bench player for us,” Kapler said. “Even if everyone is healthy, if he’s on our roster, it’s not for a pinch-hit at bat every once in a while. It’s for a regular at-bat for us. We’re going to look for those opportunities for him and we trust he’s going to capitalize on them.”

Aaron Nola went five innings on a brutally humid and rainy day, giving up three homers on the afternoon, including two to Enrique Hernandez. The win went to Ranger Suarez (2-0), while Hector Neris recorded his 18th save of the season despite allowing a homer to Alex Verdugo in the ninth inning.

And as the bags were packed for a five-game road trip to Pittsburgh and Detroit, the Phillies were able to keep their heads above water during this critical test.

“As much as the up and down of this season has been frustrating, you can find some comfort in the fact that we haven't all clicked at the same time,” Hoskins said. “It's going to happen. It's just a matter of time before we all are ourselves at the same time. When that happens, it's obviously going to be pretty scary. Hopefully, obviously sooner than later, but we'll be excited for when it does happen.”