Rhys Hoskins came to the plate in the 7th inning of last night’s game against the Marlins with a chance to hit for the cycle. He had already collected three hits–a single, double, and his 12th homer of the season (he’s good). This blast:

To be fair, Hoskins probably wasn’t going to hit a triple–he was much more likely to rip yet another home run and give my life temporary meaning, but we/he/I never got a chance to find out. That’s because Marlins reliever Brian Ellington drilled Hoskins on the right hand with a 97.8 mph fastball:

I have no idea if it just got away from Ellington as he tried to back up Hoskins (likely), or if it was intentional (probably not). I didn’t really care, as evidenced by my initial reaction after, let’s say, uh, a few beverages:

Beer muscles.

Hoskins winced in pain as he walked down to first base, but remained in the game before ultimately being removed in the bottom of the inning. The good news is that X-rays were negative and he’s day-to-day.

Phillies reliever Yacksel Rios didn’t heed my advice and instead struck out Stanton on four pitches in the bottom of the 7th.

I’m not quite as charged up over this today, but I do wonder if seemingly lifeless manager Pete Mackanin has the sac to tell Jake Thompson to send one inside on Stanton, who, by the way has more homers against the Phillies this season (8) than he does against any other team. Maybe he’s a bit too comfortable up there?

Is throwing a baseball in retaliation an old and dangerous practice? Sure, I guess. But it’s hard to look past the fact the Phillies’ best player, and the cornerstone of what they’re trying to build, almost lost his season last night. To not acknowledge that in any form is tissue soft.

The final verdict? Maybe don’t go up top on a guy who has a chance to break Roger Maris’ 61 homers clean, but it would also be nice to see the Phillies send a message and not just bend over for a change.

Unless, that is, they plan to trade for Stanton this offseason. If so, then leave my sweet, sweet prince alone.