The Mets don’t like Rhys Hoskins, and the new Brewer keeps giving their fans reason to boo

NEW YORK – Bottom line, the Milwaukee Brewers’ 7-6 victory over the New York Mets at Citi Field on Saturday afternoon was the most important thing to Rhys Hoskins.

But he wouldn’t be human if he hadn’t taken immense satisfaction in what he was able to do to facilitate it.

Booed loudly by the crowd of 30,296 from the moment he was announced for the first time in the opening inning – the byproduct of the dustup he had with Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil in a Brewers win in the opener a day earlier – Hoskins delivered the most professional of performances at the plate.

He drove in four of the first five runs of the game for Milwaukee with a single and home run and finished 3 for 4 with a walk, four RBI, two runs scored and a walk in a start at designated hitter, while also shrugging off what appeared to be New York’s attempt at hitting him with a pitch in the seventh inning.

“I mean, I’m a competitor, right?” he said. “People boo you, people doubt you, people do whatever they do. It’s always nice to prove people wrong. Yeah, I’m ecstatic about what I was able to do to help us win a game today. We won a series on the road to start the year in a place that’s not easy to do so.

“So, stoked about that.”

Rhys Hoskins booed by Mets fans, then delivers for Brewers with four early RBI, home run

The Brewers had already put a run on the board against Mets starter Luis Severino in the first inning when Hoskins stepped to the plate with two on and two outs.

He answered the thunderous boos that time by pulling a first-pitch, 97.5-mph sinker down the third-base line that gave young Milwaukee starter DL Hall a 3-0 lead with which to work before he'd even toed the pitching rubber for the first time.

Hoskins followed up in even more impressive fashion in the third with the Brewers ahead, 3-1, and a runner on.

That time he turned on a center-cut slider from Severino and knocked it 388 feet out to left field for a two-run shot that made it 5-1. Hoskins didn't slow-trot around the bases but did gesture to the sky with his right hand as he neared second base and then saluted Willy Adames when the two met at home plate.

His third at-bat, in the fifth, resulted in another single, although Milwaukee failed to cash in a pair of baserunners that inning.

The Brewers were leading by a score of 6-2 in the seventh when the dramatics began anew.

Rhys Hoskins on Mets pitcher Yohan Ramírez throwing behind him: 'Big-leaguers don't miss by 8 feet'

With Adames on first after a throwing error by Francisco Lindor and one out, Hoskins squared off against reliever Yohan Ramírez and was greeted by a 94.1-mph sinker that didn't sink but instead sailed well behind Hoskins's shoulders and all the way to the backstop.

Adames motored to second base while Hoskins remained at home plate, hands on hips.

"Big-leaguers don't miss by 8 feet," Hoskins said when asked what ran through his mind at that point. "Whether that was on purpose or not, that's not for me to decide. I really don't care. But this game has had a way of policing itself for many, many, many years.

"So, let's focus on doing it the right way if we're going to do that."

Meaning, if the Mets were going to hit Hoskins, it probably would have or should have been done early in the game.

"It seems to be bad baseball on their part, to put a runner on second base with less than two outs in a semi-close game when you're losing. So, I'll take the Brewers being in a better position to win the game every single time."

Hoskins was asked if he had entered the game expecting to be plunked at some point.

"No," he said, simply.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy reacts to Yohan Ramírez throwing behind Rhys Hoskins

Manager Pat Murphy made his way out of the dugout in the seconds after the incident and spoke with the umpires for a bit. They, in turn, conferred briefly before ejecting Ramírez, who exited the field to a large ovation while Mets manager Carlos Mendoza pleaded his case.

"It's just really simple," Murphy said. "Your player has a history with a team. If you're watching MLB channel, which I just happen to keep on, and all of a sudden balls are going over his head and you know there's a history there. We had an altercation the day before and one goes over his head. I bet it wasn't on purpose. I bet it wasn't. But I'm trying to protect the guy.

"I didn't suggest they throw him out of the game. I just said, 'Hey, we've got to take hold of this. I don't want people getting hurt. That's the whole thing. We can all be mad and we can all have our opinions of how you play the game. But bottom line is, I don't want guys getting hurt. I thought the umpires did a great job of handling it.

"I don't know that I would have thrown him out of the game. But they have their own protocol."

When order was finally restored, ex-Brewer Jorge López threw three straight balls to walk Hoskins, who along with Adames was again stranded.

New York commenced a spirited comeback from that point, drawing to within a run with one out in the ninth before Abner Uribe finally slammed the door on Milwaukee's series victory. It's the first time since 2018 the Brewers have opened a season with consecutive wins, and their big free-agent signee has been right in the middle of it all.

"He is one of our pillars," said Murphy. "We keep saying that, but Rhys is a special dude who's not just a really good baseball player – he's really committed to playing the game the right way and he's really committed to leading."

Rhys Hoskins led Brewers' strong offensive attack vs Mets

Hoskins wasn't the only one who had a big day for the Brewers offensively.

William Contreras also had a three-hit game and Adames, Christian Yelich, Brice Turang and Jackson Chourio added two hits apiece to power a 16-hit attack. The Brewers have pounded out 24 hits in the series, tied with the 1978 team for fourth-most in franchise history through the first two games of a season.

Only the 1996 team (29 hits), 1994 team (27) and 1982 team (25) had more.

"Hopefully we can keep it going, create a little momentum here," Hoskins said. "I also just think the pressure on the base paths is something that's going to be relentless throughout the year. That's how you tack on those important runs in the middle innings that seemingly mean nothing at that time but, as we saw today, every run matters.

"Really, just an impressive offensive baseball showing by us today, I think."

Brewers schedule: Milwaukee and Mets end season at American Family Field

After Sunday's series finale, the Brewers and Mets won't see each other again until the final series of the season, Sept. 27-29 at American Family Field.

Is the drama between the two teams over?

"I don't know. I don't really care, to be honest," Hoskins said. "I'm going to come here and try to win a ballgame tomorrow. That's it."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers' Rhys Hoskins stars vs. Mets amid boos from New York fans