Today's Lineup: Rhys Hoskins Returns to Bat in Clean-up Spot Vs. Mets

The Phillies will have their most dangerous bat back in the lineup this afternoon when they open a series with the New York Mets.

Rookie sensation Rhys Hoskins will make his triumphant return to the lineup and bat in the clean-up hole at Citi Field today. Hoskins sat out yesterday's extra-inning win in Miami after he was drilled in the hand with a 97-mph fastball during Saturday night's loss to the Marlins.

Needless to say, having Hoskins and his game-changing bat back in the lineup will be a huge boost for the Phils. The reigning NL Rookie of the Month for August is batting .318 with 12 homers and 27 RBIs on the season. He's hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games and, going back further, 18 of his last 21 games. He will start in left field today.

Tommy Joseph, who batted in the clean-up hole in Hoskins' place on Sunday in Miami, slides down to fifth in the order today. Joseph is batting .283 over his last 11 games with four homers, three doubles and 8 RBIs.

Both Odubel Herrera and Aaron Altherr have been reinstated from the disabled list, but neither will be in the lineup today vs. the injury-depleted Mets, who are missing stars Yoenis Cespedes and Michael Conforto, among many others.

Mark Leiter, Jr. will take the hill for the Phils today. Leiter is 2-4 this season with a 3.88 ERA. But this will just be his seventh start of the season as he's bounced back and forth between the bullpen and starting rotation, especially recently. He took a hard-luck loss last time out when he threw 6 2/3 innings of three-run ball against the Braves and received barely any help from the offense in a 5-2 defeat. He's appeared once this season against the Mets, throwing four shutout innings in relief in a Phillies loss on Aug. 10.

Leiter will be opposed by Mets righty Rafael Montero, who enters today's contest with a 3-9 record and 5.12 ERA. Much like Leiter, Montero has bounced around from the bullpen to the rotation this season. He's made one start and one relief appearance against the Phils this season and both ended with losses on his record -- a start on July 2 and relief appearance on April 18. He's coming off a strong outing last week vs. the Reds when he tossed 8 1/3 innings of shutout ball.

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Both teams' full lineups can be found below:

Phillies
1. Cesar Hernandez, 2B
2. Freddy Galvis, SS
3. Nick Williams, CF
4. Rhys Hoskins, LF
5. Tommy Joseph, 1B
6. Maikel Franco, 3B
7. Hyun Soo Kim, RF
8. Cameron Rupp, C
9. Mark Leiter, Jr., P

Mets
1. Jose Reyes, SS
2. Nori Aoki, RF
3. Asdrubal Cabrera, 3B
4. Domonic Smith, 1B
5. Kevin Plawecki, C
6. Brandon Nimmo, LF
7. Juan Lagares, CF
8. Gavin Cecchini, 2B
9. Rafael Montero, P

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