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Rhys Hoskins and the Philadelphia Phillies are ready to make one final push for
a playoff berth.Hoskins became the seventh-fastest player to hit 50 career home
runs and the Phillies kept pace in the NL East with a 4-0 victory over the New
York Mets on Wednesday night.Zach Eflin and five relievers combined on a
six-hitter and Odubel Herrera added a two-run homer for the Phillies, who won
consecutive series for the first time since July 25 and stayed 5½ games behind
division-leading Atlanta.Seven of Philadelphia¡¯s final 11 games are against the
Braves, including a four-game series beginning Thursday night in Atlanta.¡°We¡¯re
in a pretty unique, exciting position that doesn¡¯t happen that often. As a
competitor, that¡¯s all you can ask for,¡± Hoskins said. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a fun,
really, really competitive, really, really intense series.¡±Hoskins¡¯
opposite-field solo shot against Noah Syndergaard in the first inning was his
32nd homer of the season and 50th in 192 career games. Only Rudy York (153),
Mark McGwire (161), Gary Sanchez
(161)
Alan
Trammell Jersey , Ryan Braun (171), Aaron Judge (174) and former Phillies
slugger Ryan Howard (182) reached 50 quicker, according to the Elias Sports
Bureau.¡°I think it¡¯s kind of an arbitrary stat, but it¡¯s cool to be mentioned in
some of the same sentences as some of the guys who have done it before me,¡±
Hoskins said.The 25-year-old Hoskins later added his 35th double, and Jose
Bautista had a pinch-hit RBI double in the fifth off Jerry Blevins.Eflin (11-7)
struck out nine and allowed three hits in five innings. Luis Avilan, Victor
Arano and Adam Morgan each went one inning.Aaron Loup allowed a leadoff single
to Jay Bruce in the ninth before Pat Neshek got the final three outs of
Philadelphia¡¯s 11th shutout. New York (70-82) was blanked for the 12th time and
assured a second consecutive losing season.¡°Over the last two years it¡¯s been
really difficult as a player,¡± Syndegaard said.The right-hander gave up both
homers and four hits in four innings, matching his shortest outing of the year
on April 4 ¡ª also against Philadelphia. Syndergaard (12-4) posted a 5.75 ERA in
four starts against the Phillies this year.¡°He wasn¡¯t missing by much but he was
just off the plate all night and they ran his pitch count up,¡± Mets manager
Mickey Callaway said. ¡°I thought they had a pretty good approach against him
again.¡±Following a lengthy slump that knocked the Phillies out of first place,
they¡¯ve won four of six and manager Gabe Kapler wants his team thinking
playoffs.Players entering the clubhouse were greeted with a message in both
English and Spanish that read, ¡°This is not over. It¡¯s going to take hard
work
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heart and pride. Together we can do this.¡±Before early batting practice was
over, Atlanta had finished off a 7-3 victory against St. Louis that snapped a
four-game skid and reduced its magic number to six to clinch the NL East.But the
Phillies answered ahead of their biggest series of the season.¡°We have a job to
do in Atlanta,¡± Kapler said. ¡°We¡¯re prepared for it. We¡¯ve been thinking about
it quite a bit.¡±TRAINER¡¯S ROOMMets: INF Wilmer Flores, experiencing pain in both
knees, was sent back to New York and scheduled to undergo tests Thursday. .
Bruce made his 11th start at first base and first in five games.Phillies: INF
Asdrubal Cabrera (strained left calf) didn¡¯t start, but pinch-hit and drew a
walk in the sixth.WHEELER DONEThe Mets will skip RHP Zack Wheeler¡¯s final two
scheduled starts as a precaution, ending his breakout year.Wheeler, who missed
two full seasons following Tommy John surgery before returning for 17 starts
last year, went 12-7 with a 3.31 ERA in 29 starts while throwing 182 1/3
innings.After the All-Star break, Wheeler was 9-1 with a 1.68 ERA.¡°I made some
adjustments and was able to sort of take off,¡± Wheeler said. ¡°Hopefully, I can
carry that into next season.¡±BORAS-BOUNDHoskins confirmed an NBC Sports
Philadelphia report that he¡¯s hired star agent Scott Boras. Hoskins won¡¯t be
eligible for free agency until after the 2023 season.UP NEXTMets: LHP Jason
Vargas
(6-9
Lance
Parrish Jersey , 6.47 ERA) moves back into the rotation Thursday night and
will oppose RHP Max Scherzer (17-7, 2.53) in the opener of a four-game series at
Washington.Phillies: RHP Vince Velasquez (9-11, 4.26) tries to stop his skid
Thursday night at Atlanta. He allowed four runs in two innings against Miami on
Saturday and is 1-3 with a 7.52 ERA in his past seven starts. RHP Kevin Gausman
(10-10, 3.92) goes for the Braves. NEW YORK (AP) ¡ª Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte
and Jorge Posada returned to the Bronx on Saturday for the New York Yankees¡®
celebration of their 1998 World Series championship team.Darryl Strawberry and
former manager Joe Torre also attended the ceremony before New York¡¯s game
against the Toronto Blue Jays. Derek Jeter did not make the trip because of his
daughter Bella¡¯s first birthday, but sent a video message for the fans.Jeter, a
one-time fixture at Yankee Stadium ceremonies, hasn¡¯t made a public appearance
at his longtime home since becoming the chief executive officer of the Miami
Marlins.The 1998 Yankees finished with a then-AL record 114 wins and added 11
more in the postseason to set a major league record with 125 victories. New York
swept San Diego to win the World Series.The 1906 Chicago Cubs hold the National
League record with 116 wins, but they lost to the Chicago White Sox in the World
Series. The Seattle Mariners broke New York¡¯s record just three seasons later,
matching the Cubs¡¯ total, but they were eliminated by the Yankees in the AL
Championship Series in five games.Of the top 11 teams on baseball¡¯s
single-season wins list, Seattle is the only one to fall short of the World
Series.The impressive 1998 season for the Yankees ¡°wasn¡¯t the big thing for
me
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Rivera said. ¡°The next 11 wins was the thing to wrap up everything. Seattle won
116, but they didn¡¯t win the championship. The season is there but is erased.¡±So
that is the challenge for Boston as it threatens the wins record this year.
Members of the 1998 Yankees say it doesn¡¯t mean very much without a title.¡°At
the end of the day, if you don¡¯t win, you don¡¯t remember.¡± Posada said.The major
league-leading Red Sox began the day with an 87-36 record. They need 30 wins
over their last 39 games to break the record.¡°They¡¯re a great team. They¡¯ve been
playing really well,¡± said Torre, who managed the Yankees for 12 seasons,
winning four championships. ¡°But I tell you what, when you get to postseason,
there is a whole lot of pressure on you. As proven by Seattle in ¡¯01, you have
to remind people that they did that because they didn¡¯t go anywhere. They won
the division, but they didn¡¯t beat us.¡±