PHILADELPHIA -- Don't miss Rhys Hoskins the next time he steps to the plate.
Hoskins continues to mash home runs at a prodigious rate. He hit his eighth homer in the second inning of Thursday afternoon's 9-8 loss to the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. It tied Carlos Delgado (1993-94) and Trevor Story (2016) for the most homers through a player's first 15 games, according to Baseball Reference.
Hoskins also is one of just three players to hit eight homers within his first 50 career at-bats, according to Elias Sports Bureau. He hit his eighth in his 49th at-bat. He joins Trey Mancini (eight homers in 47 at-bats) and Delgado (eight homers in 48 at-bats).
"It's good to see," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "I like him in the middle of that lineup."

Hoskins hit an 0-1 curveball against Marlins right-hander Vance Worley. It left his bat at 100.3 mph and traveled a projected 400 feet, according to Statcast™.
"He's a professional hitter," Phillies right-hander Jake Thompson said. "He never really seems to have bad at-bats. He makes adjustments pitch-to-pitch, and that's what good hitters do."

But Hoskins wasn't the only player in the middle of the Phillies lineup to supply power Thursday. Phillies first baseman Tommy Joseph went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBIs. He hit .412 (7 for 17) with three doubles, three home runs, six RBIs and a 1.529 OPS in the four-game series against the Marlins. He had hit .145 (8-for-55) with three doubles and six RBIs in his previous 16 games.

"Hopefully he has that competitive spirit right now," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said.
Mackanin is referring to Hoskins' Aug. 10 promotion to the big leagues. Hoskins is a first baseman that is playing left field because of Joseph's job at first. Hoskins could play more first base once outfielders Odubel Herrera and Aaron Altherr return from the 10-day disabled list in the coming weeks. He also could be the team's regular first baseman next season.
But all of that remains to be seen.
"Rhys being here has nothing to do with me playing well," Joseph said. "It has a lot to do with the fire inside of any player that doesn't want to continue to fail the same way. It was a matter of changing something, whether it was in my stance, thought process, anything like that. You have to make an adjustment as a player. I did a very good job of getting out the same exact way for a better part of August. Over the course of the last couple days, I've been able to do some things better."
Specifically, Joseph said he is hunting the fastball better.
"When you're hunting the heater, you're able to get things out in front," Joseph said. "I hit a lot of ground balls to the right side, a lot of weak popups to the right side. I was catching things too deep. Good things happen out front."