Rhys

Hoskins

The Guardians were held to just three hits on the night, and it was the RBI single by Hoskins in the bottom of the first inning that gave them their only run on the evening. It was the 34th RBI of the season for Hoskins, who got the start over Kyle Manzardo with a lefty on the mound for the Diamondbacks.

The 26-year-old slugger will take a seat with left-hander Mitch Bratt toeing the slab for the Diamondbacks. Rhys Hoskins will start in his place at first base and bat cleanup for the Guardians on Friday evening in Cleveland.

Both came off Joe Ryan. Hoskins, who has started over Kyle Manzardo in two of the Guardians’ last three games, is just 5-for-30 this month, but four of those hits have been homers. He’s batting .182/.314/.387 on the season. His role figures to be reduced again once José Ramírez and Angel Martínez return from the injured list.

Hoskins provided the lone run of the game for the Guardians with a solo shot off Taj Bradley in the second inning. The 33-year-old has been able to pick up eight homers over the first half of 2026, and he’s driven in 30 runs over 92 games. There’s still the occasional reminder of Hoskins’ pop, but the .180/.319/.359 slash is more indicative of what kind of player he now is. Respectfully.

Hoskins went down and got a Tatsuya Imai slider that was below his knees and yanked it way over the left field fence. That was his first home run in over two weeks as he’s been stuck in a horrible slump in June, going just 6-for-43 so far this month. The Guardians will need his bat to wake up after a third of their starting lineup all wound up on the injured list this past week. That lack of competition will likely keep Hoskins’ starting job safe, for now.

It looked like it might be a hand/wrist issue. Ramírez being the third Guardians player leaving due to injury forced the Guardians to put Rhys Hoskins in left for his first outfield appearance since 2018. Kyle Manzardo replaced Hoskins at first base.

Daniel Schneeman will bat fifth and play center field in Hoskins’ absence, allowing a DH day for Chase DeLauter. We’d say this looks like a routine day off, but when you’re hitting .190/.338/.388 in 44 games lower on the defensive spectrum as a low-risk signing, your roster spot is obviously on shaky ground.

Hoskins took Nationals lefty opener PJ Poulin deep in the second inning for his fifth big fly of the year. He struck out his final three times up in the one-sided affair. The 33-year-old power-hitting first baseman is slashing .190/.338/.388 with five homers and 20 RBI through 44 games in his Cleveland debut.

The homer was just a 343-footer down the left field line, but Hoskins needs those at this stage of his career. He’s batting .207/.353/.390 while starting about half of the time for the Guardians. He will be in there again on Wednesday with the Royals pitching southpaw Cole Ragans.

Hoskins is a part-time player right now, but with Kyle Manzardo off to the kind of start that demands a demotion to Triple-A, it’s quite possible he’ll be a full-timer at some point. His .219/.367/.384 line isn’t all that great, but that .751 OPS is 250 points higher than Manzardo’s .498 mark.