PHILADELPHIA -- Phillies fans continued to show Rhys Hoskins the love, showering him with another nice ovation as he stepped to the plate for his first at-bat Saturday.
It didn’t take very long for those cheers to turn into jeers once Hoskins’ three-run homer cleared the center-field wall.
“If you get booed by your former team, you know you’re doing something right,” said Chad Patrick, who allowed two runs over six innings to earn his third victory of the season.
Hoskins’ homer capped a four-run first inning for the Brewers against Jesús Luzardo, but neither he nor his teammates were finished, bashing their way to a 17-7 victory at Citizens Bank Park. Milwaukee churned out 23 hits in its sixth straight win, scoring eight runs in the fourth inning to blow the game open.
Three of those came courtesy of Hoskins, who belted his second three-run homer of the game off Luzardo. Hoskins, who spent the first seven years of his career with Philadelphia, tied career highs with his two homers and six RBIs, clinching a series win for the Brewers and setting up a potential sweep on Sunday.
“It was big for us as a team,” Hoskins said. “We had a plan against Luzardo, who has been super good for them; to come out aggressive and to punch early in a game like that on the road, it's huge.”
When Hoskins returned to Philadelphia as a visitor for the first time last season, he hit a solo home run off Zack Wheeler in a Brewers loss. He collected only one hit over the next two games as the Phillies swept the three-game set.
The Brewers took the series opener Friday night, but Hoskins went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. His first swing on Saturday set the tone for the blowout win, allowing him to turn the page on the previous night.
“It's nice to contribute in a win, for sure,” Hoskins said.
By the time Hoskins’ second homer left the yard, the Brewers were up 11-0 against Luzardo, who had allowed only 16 earned runs over his first 11 starts this season. Milwaukee touched him up for 12 on Saturday, bloating his ERA from 2.15 to 3.58.
“I thought it was cool,” manager Pat Murphy said. “The bigger thing for me is [Hoskins] responded from yesterday against a guy that's a legit dude. It's critical to have these games against guys and against teams that are really, really talented.”
“It’s incredible,” Jackson Chourio said through a translator. “I think I was rooting on one of his home runs there as if it was my own.”
Chourio only had to wait two innings to join Hoskins’ homer party, drilling a three-run shot to cap a five-run sixth for the Crew. Chourio finished the day 4-for-5 with three runs scored, tying a career-high with five RBIs, one of seven different Brewers to drive in a run.
The 23 hits were the most for the Brewers since a win over the White Sox exactly one year ago, while the trio of three-run homers marked the first time Milwaukee accomplished that feat since Sept. 5, 2007 (Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and Corey Hart) against the Astros.
“Right now, the offense is just going through a great stretch where it doesn't really matter who's out there,” Chourio said through a translator. “The offense is going out there ready to compete, ready to put good at-bats together and string them along. Just enjoying the moment we're going through.”
Nobody seemed to enjoy it more than Hoskins, who may not receive another warm welcome when he steps to the plate in Sunday’s series finale.
“If you end up getting booed in an away stadium, you did your job,” Hoskins said. “I’ll take it.”