The Cubs made sure everybody in Philadelphia went home with a souvenir

Don’t answer that. It was a rhetorical question.

Since being called up to the majors, Rhys Hoskins has shown that he should be a fixture in the Phillies lineup. He won each of his past two starts, holding the Blue Jays to four hits and two runs in six innings on Saturday in a 4-3 victory.

Even though most of the attention in the sporting world was focused on the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor fight Saturday night, the Cubs reminded those tuning into baseball why they are defending World Series champs.

That might be Rizzo, who has followed his National League Player of the Week performance by going 8-for-19 (.421) with two homers, four walks, and six RBIs in the first five games of a six-game road trip.

Perhaps most impressively, Hoskins has a slash line of.308/.357/1.000 with 3 homers after he has fallen behind in the count 0-2. And in that guise, he made a game-turning play Sunday.

Veteran Pedro Florimon draws back into Pete Mackanin’s starting nine.

At just 24-years-old Hoskins is developing into a fan favorite on the Phil’s roster.

Phillies: RHP Jake Thompson (1-1, 4.20) is expected to be recalled from Triple-A and get the ball for Philadelphia. “I’ve used this whole season as a big learning experience for me, just how to handle certain things, like that”. The 15-year veteran enters today’s matchup with a 10-9 record and 4.90 ERA on the season. The Phillies have allowed 27 runs in their last three games and five or more runs in seven of their last 10 games. Both Anthony Rizzo and Tommy La Stella had ventured far enough away from their respective bases and were easily forced out. It was the second straight game in which Philadelphia at least eight runs and 11 hits. Pivetta hasn’t lasted into the sixth inning in his last four starts, three of which wound up in losses. Cesar Hernandez was 2-for-5 with a run. “He looks like a professional hitter, he’s not afraid to get behind in the count, he’s not afraid to go the other way, he wants to drive in the run”.

Nick Williams went 0-4 with three strikeouts. It’s an important preface to this post because otherwise what Rhys Hoskins is doing might not seem as positive. Tommy Joseph, 1B 6. It certainly can’t hurt it.As an added benefit, maybe Crawford’s presence at the hot corner puts some heat on Maikel Franco. Kyle Schwarber, LF 3.