PHILADELPHIA -- A mere four pitches into Game 2 of Thursday's doubleheader against the Mets, New York had tagged Zach Eflin for three doubles and two runs. The Phillies, at that point, barely had a chance to digest the 24-4 loss they had endured earlier in the day.
But with one swing, Rhys Hoskins blanketed that fresh memory with something a little sweeter for the 33,049 fans at Citizens Bank Park. He mashed a 2-2 changeup from Mets starter Steven Matz and watched from the batter's box as it clinked off the netting of the left-field foul pole to give the Phillies a one-run lead in the first inning of what became a crucial 9-6 win.
"I just think the whole game, in general, was pretty big," Hoskins said.
The ball left Hoskins' bat at 107.5 mph, according to Statcast™, and plated Cesar Hernandez and Nick Williams, both of whom singled earlier in the inning. It marked Hoskins' 25th homer of the season, his second of the day and third in as many games. It was a clutch moment from the one the Phillies are becoming accustomed to seeing change games; only four other big leaguers entering Thursday had as many as Hoskins' 14 go-ahead home runs in 2018.

This time, Hoskins' slugging helped pushed the Phillies up a half-game in the standings. They trail Atlanta for the top spot in the National League East by 1 1/2 games and, along with Milwaukee, lead St. Louis by the same margin in the Wild Card. All of this on a day where the Phillies allowed 30 runs.
"We're not down for long," Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. "We can take it on the chin. We can take a punch and we always get up and come out swinging."

Such was the case for Scott Kingery, whose sixth home run of the year combined with slick baserunning by Roman Quinn and Hernandez to add three more runs in the second and chase Matz after two frames. That was enough cushion for Eflin, who after a rocky start, finished with four earned runs allowed over 6 2/3 innings. He surrendered seven hits, struck out five and walked three.
"That's by far probably the best thing you can do as a pitcher, is pitch with a lead," Eflin said.
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Eflin said he was thankful for that lead, one founded on Hoskins' latest go-ahead blast, but one that helped the Phillies survive a day that started off as bad as it gets.
"[When] you get to wake up tomorrow closer than you were today," Hoskins said, "that's a good day."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Team player: Eflin had been optioned after his last start because the Phillies knew the rotation could stay in order with Eflin occupying the 26th roster spot for the doubleheader. He wasn't completely pleased with the decision, as he lost Major League service time and thousands of dollars in big league salary, but he understood. Now, after picking up his ninth win, he will return to the Minors until his next turn. 
"We trust that our players are strong-minded," Kapler said, "and we trust that they can put things like what happened with the option behind them and focus on the step right in front of them."

Sweet relief: Kapler said between games that he used Quinn and Kingery as pitchers in Game 1 because, in a contest out of hand, it kept relievers fresh for Game 2. That held true when Luis Garcia came on to finish the seventh inning with one pitch; when Victor Arano threw a scoreless eighth; and when Seranthony Dominguez entered with an out in the ninth earn a save with two strikeouts.
"We used strategy to best position the Phillies to win baseball games," Kapler said. "We're going to continue to do that. My job is to protect the Phillies. That's it. That's what I did."

SOUND SMART
Hoskins homered in both games of a doubleheader for the second time this season (vs. Padres on July 22). The last Phillies player to achieve such a feat was Mike Schmidt, who in 1983 went deep in both games of twin bills against Montreal on June 21 and Sept. 14.

YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
While Williams got stuck in a second-inning pickle between first and second base, Hernandez took off for home plate from third. He slid in to swipe his hand across the tip of the plate, but the Mets challenged. Replay confirmed that Hernandez did indeed beat the tag while still getting a piece of home to score.

MITEL REPLAY OF THE DAY
After Hernandez scored Quinn with an RBI double in the sixth inning, Williams knocked a two-out liner to center field. Austin Jackson appeared to have caught the ball just before it grazed the turf to save a run, but the Phillies challenged and won after replays revealed the ball hit the ground before bouncing into Jackson's glove. Hernandez scored.

UP NEXT
Game 3 of this five-game series pits Aaron Nola (13-3, 2.28 ERA) against Noah Syndergaard (8-2, 3.22) for a 6:05 p.m. ET first pitch Friday. The Phillies' ace has allowed two or fewer runs in all but five of his 24 starts this season. Syndergaard has won four of his last five starts, earning a 3.56 ERA during that span. The MLB Now crew is also calling an alternative broadcast of the game, as Brian Kenny, Joe Girardi, Jon Heyman and Mike Petriello do a deep stats dive on MLB Network.