Hoskins launches another slam, a hopeful sign of things to come

LOS ANGELES -- Rhys Hoskins was 0-for-the-road-trip and fighting a funk that goes all the way back to his return from a hamstring injury at the end of May.

The Brewers hope that this is the swing that breaks the slugger out of it and provides a silver lining on what was otherwise a frustrating night against a chief National League rival.

Hoskins connected for the Brewers’ sixth grand slam in their last 13 games in their 8-5 loss on Friday night at Dodger Stadium, snapping his 0-for-14 funk and making Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy look wise for sticking with the 31-year-old first baseman through the most difficult stretch of Hoskins’ comeback season.

The two men sat in Murphy’s office at Coors Field for 45 minutes on Thursday to discuss Hoskins’ recent struggles, but they didn’t talk about taking time off. So, Hoskins was in the lineup again Friday against one of baseball’s toughest right-handed pitchers in Tyler Glasnow.

That decision paid major dividends when Hoskins lifted a 98.1 mph fastball into the air and sent it to the seats, capping a five-run Brewers rally in the fourth inning after they went nine up, nine down against Glasnow in the first three.

The grand slam was the Brewers’ sixth in their last 13 games. According to Elias Sports Bureau, only two other AL/NL teams in the Modern Era (since 1900) have hit six grand slams in a 13-game span: the 2020 Padres (who had two overlapping stretches of six in 13) and the 1996 Expos.

Murphy explained his commitment to Hoskins as an everyday presence by calling him one of the team’s “pillars,” and arguing that for the revamped Brewers to maintain their unlikely hold on the National League Central, they’d need Hoskins’ power to be a big part of it.

And then that power showed up.

“There’s a lot of different factors for me this year. I’m in a new place, new people, obviously coming back from a pretty significant injury,” said Hoskins, who missed most of his final season with the Phillies in 2023 following ACL surgery. “I’m trying to give myself some perspective on that. But the reality is just because I’m a competitor and I know what I’m capable of and know what I’ve done in this league, those things just don’t match up. That’s what can be frustrating.

“Luckily, we play most every day and I’ve always told guys the next moment is on the way already. That’s the beautiful part. You have to be ready. Frustrating, for sure. I’m sure I’ve shown that frustration at times. But the beautiful part of this game is you always have to be ready for the next one.”

Hoskins has tried to stay ready even though the results haven’t come. Going into Friday night, he had a .551 OPS in his last 111 plate appearances since coming off the IL, but that rough stretch has included a big moment or two. On June 24, Hoskins’ grand slam was the difference in a win over the Rangers at home -- part of a stretch in which the Brewers hit five slams in the span of eight games.

It would be different, Hoskins said, if the Brewers were slumping as much as he was. But despite so many pitching injuries that they’ve already used 16 different starters, including the just-acquired Aaron Civale on Friday, they went into this series atop the NL Central by six games with the third-best record in the NL -- only one game behind the deep-pocketed Dodgers.

“Winning cures all,” Hoskins said. “Always has.”

The Brewers had a good chance to win after Hoskins’ slam gave them a 5-2 lead, but the Dodgers pulled within 5-4 against Civale and then tied the game in the seventh when L.A. catcher Will Smith hit his third home run of the night -- a solo shot off ace reliever Bryan Hudson. It came on a cutter that was a ball down and in, but nonetheless a mistake, Hudson said.

With Hudson already out of the game and Jared Koenig on the IL, it was Hoby Milner’s turn for high-leverage work when the Dodgers loaded the bases off a shaky Elvis Peguero in the eighth. Milner thought he had Freddie Freeman struck out with a fastball on the outer edge but didn’t get the call, and Freeman took advantage by lining a tie-breaking single up the middle for the lead.

“It’s kind of the way things are going for me so far,” Milner said of the close call. “I had to get him out on the next pitch and didn’t.”

Brewers hitters didn’t get the job done, either. Aside from Hoskins’ slam, Milwaukee mustered only three singles, and two didn’t leave the infield.

“Credit to the Dodgers. Credit to Freddie Freeman, who has done it so many times,” Murphy said. “There were a couple of borderline pitches there that could have gone either way, and that's baseball. Great environment, and that's what it's all about.

“We have to respond. The young guys have to figure out how to perform their best in this kind of venue."