Rhys Hoskins is a first baseman by trade. But with the way he was tearing up minor-league pitching on a daily basis, the Phillies pushed him into the outfield to get him a spot on the big club.
Hoskins will move back to his natural first-base spot for the first time in his young MLB career today when the Phillies host the Mets in the finale of the four-game series at Citizens Bank Park.
The 24-year-old, who is still looking for his first hit, is back in the clean-up spot for Pete Mackanin today. It'll mark the third straight game Hoskins will bat fourth for the Phils.
In yet another glimpse of the future, Jorge Alfaro will start behind the plate and catch Zach Eflin today. This will be Alfaro's third start since his call-up to the Phils last week after Andrew Knapp suffered a fractured hand. Alfaro, who's 3 for 9 at the plate in his two starts, will bat eighth against Mets starter Chris Flexen.
Flexen, a 22-year-old rookie righty, will be making his fourth start of the season for New York. He's coming off his first career win, a 5-4 win at Texas last week when he hurled 5 2/3 innings of three-run ball. But he didn't last past the third inning in each of his previous two starts. He comes in with a 1-1 record and 8.49 ERA.
The Phils will counter with Eflin, who picked up his first win of the season last time out when he tossed seven innings of two-run ball in a over the Braves last week in Atlanta. In eight starts this season, Eflin is 1-3 with a 5.67 ERA.
One note on the Mets' lineup -- Yoenis Cespedes, who has just mashed Phillies pitching for five homers and 12 RBIs this season, will get the day off.
Philadelphia Phillies
Complete coverage of the Fightin' Phils and their MLB rivals from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Both teams' lineups can be found below:
Phillies
1. Cesar Hernandez, 2B
2. Freddy Galvis, SS
3. Odubel Herrera, CF
4. Rhys Hoskins, 1B
5. Nick Williams, RF
6. Maikel Franco, 3B
7. Hyun Soo Kim, LF
8. Jorge Alfaro, C
9. Zach Eflin, SP
Mets
1. Curtis Granderson, RF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B
3. Michael Conforto, CF
4. Wilmer Flores, 2B
5. Domonic Smith, 1B
6. Travis d'Arnoud, C
7. Brandon Nimmo, LF
8. Jose Reyes, SS
9. Chris Flexen, SP
