It’s a good thing Rhys Hoskins isn’t in the NL East anymore.
The drama between the former Philadelphia Phillies first baseman and the Mets continued. One day after he slid into Jeff McNeil and prompted the benches to clear, Hoskins went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer, a two-run double, two runs scored and a walk to help the Milwaukee Brewers down the Mets, 7-6, on Saturday at Citi Field.
Brett Baty’s pinch-hit, a three-run shot off right-hander Hobey Milner in the bottom of the eighth inning, brought the Mets back to within two. Edwin Diaz then made his first appearance since October 2022 in the ninth, with the trumpets bringing the crowd to their feet. The closer was the only pitcher all day to retire Hoskins, getting him to pop up to Baty at third.
Milwaukee closer Abner Uribe came on to try for his second save in as many days and Pete Alonso took him deep for his first of the year to make it 7-6. But Uribe retired DJ Stewart and Starling Marte to convert the save and secure the series win for the Brewers.
The Mets eventually retaliated against Hoskins, well after starting pitcher Luis Severino had exited the game, when Yohan Ramirez threw one high and tight to Hoskins in the seventh, forcing him to duck. Home plate umpire Lance Barrett swiftly ejected Ramirez.
Despite the Citi Field faithful’s best efforts to rattle him with a chorus of boos every time he came up to bat, Hoskins had the last laugh. Hoskins, who made a crybaby motion to McNeil from the Brewers dugout after sliding into him one day prior, continued to use the crybaby motion with his new teammates to celebrate his success at the plate.
Severino, who became the first pitcher to start for the Yankees and Mets since Bartolo Colon, gave up six earned runs on 12 hits and struck out six over only five innings of work in the loss (0-1). The Brewers got to the right-hander early, going up 3-0 in the first, with two of those runs coming off the bat of Hoskins.
With two out and runners on second and third, Hoskins took the first pitch he saw from Severino and drilled it into left field to score the runners.
Francisco Alvarez hit a solo homer off left-hander DL Hall to cut the Milwaukee lead to 3-1, but then Hoskins came up again in the third with one out and a man on first. Severino went ahead 0-2 before Hoskins worked the count full and took a slider over the left field fence, putting the Brewers up 5-1.
In the fifth, Hoskins singled up the middle with one out. He went from first base to third on a single by Oliver Dunn and scored on a balk by Severino.
Then came the theatrics in his fourth at-bat. The high heat from Ramirez was ruled a wild pitch and Willy Adames, who had reached on an error, took second base. A few guys on either side made moves toward the field, but the dugouts were warned, and everyone stayed put aside from the managers.
Ramirez was replaced by Jorge López, who walked Hoskins. He retired the next two hitters, but the damage had long been done.
The series concludes Sunday with right-hander Tylor Megill, the brother of Milwaukee reliever Trevor Megill, facing right-hander Colin Rea.
