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Choi and Pain: Brewers 12, Phillies 3

Despite Rhys Hoskins’ three-run homer, Ji-Man Choi and the Brewers powered past the Phillies

By The Smarty Jones
Milwaukee Brewers v Philadelphia Phillies Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

It’s been said that optimistic people have a lesser quality of life because they constantly experience disappointment when things don’t go the way they hoped. You might think this wouldn’t be much of a problem for Phillies fans, as the team’s recent play hasn’t given the fans much reason to expect anything but disappointment.

Despite the recent struggles, there were a couple of reasons for Phillies fans to have a glimmer of optimism heading into Saturday’s game:

  1. Jake Arrieta was the starting pitcher
  2. Rhys Hoskins was returning to the lineup

Arrieta has been especially strong at Citizens Bank Park this season, but hopes for a dominant performance were squashed three batters into the game:

After that blast, Arrieta settled down for the next few innings, and that pesky optimism slowly crept back into the hearts of fans. In the third inning, the Phillies got two runners on base, and Hoskins came to the plate.

Admittedly, Hoskins had been slumping before his stint on the disabled list, but his return certainly couldn’t hurt the Phillies lineup. His new helmet also sparked some much needed levity:

Given a chance to provide the Phillies with a boost, Hoskins and his helmet did not disappoint:

Those good feelings did not last for long.

Arrieta ran into trouble again in the 6th. Thanks in part to a catcher’s interference and hit batsman, the Brewers loaded the bases, and Luis Garcia was brought in to put out the fire.

He retired the first batter quickly, and then got ahead of Ji-Man Choi 0-2. Here’s how that at bat ended:

On the bright side, at least it wasn’t Ryan Braun!

After Garcia’s exit, a variety of Phillies relievers - lowlighted by Adam Morgan’s truly awful performance - combined to put the game out of reach.

But don’t worry, all you optimists out there. The Phillies can’t keep playing this poorly. Surely, they’ll win another game at some point.

In the meantime, if this game - and the three before it - have got you down, maybe we can cheer ourselves up by taking a quick look at how some of the team’s top prospects are doing...

Never mind.

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