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Tuesday night was a night of firsts for Philadelphia Phillies rookie first baseman Tommy Joseph. Just four days after his call-up to the bigs, he hit his first home run, had his first three-hit game, hit cleanup for the first time, and was involved in his first challenged play. A player's first major league homer is something he never forgets, and Joseph's came early in the Phillies' game against the Miami Marlins. In the bottom of the second inning, Joseph was leading off against Marlins pitcher Wei-Yin Chen. Chen's 1-2 pitch to Joseph was right down the middle, and Joseph hit a bullet to far left field that just cleared the big yellow foul pole. [ Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now ] After Joseph made his trip around the bases, he came back to – what else? – an empty, silent dugout. It didn't take long for his teammates to rush out and mob him with congratulations.  It's been a long, tough road for Joseph to get here. He was one of the first pieces the Phillies obtained in their rebuilding effort. He came over from the San Francisco Giants in 2012 when the Phillies, recognizing that 2012 wasn't going to be like their 102-win 2011 season, traded Hunter Pence. Back then, Joseph was a catcher, and an important get for the Phillies' relatively barren minor league system.  That's when the trouble began.  Catchers are particularly vulnerable to concussions, and Joseph proved that in spades. Concussion after concussion began to pile up, ending seasons early and deeply hindering his progress. In a story from 2015 by Meghan Montemurro of The News Journal, Joseph himself isn't sure of how many concussions he's had. "Officially diagnosed is, I think, three or four," Joseph said of his concussion history. "I don't know. I started losing track if it was diagnosed or a setback or what it was." He began the 2015 season with more protective catching gear, but by midseason he was being converted to a first baseman. His troubles weren't over, though, as Joseph noticed he was having issues tracking the ball that were connected to his vision. According to CSNPhilly's Jim Salisbury, in the offseason  he went through an eye therapy program and discovered he has an astigmatism, and now wears a contact lens to correct that. In October 2015, the Phillies placed Joseph on waivers, where every other team passed on him. Continue to Article

May 18, 2016 11:24:am EST

After getting shelled to begin the month, Tom Koehler got back to basics and has had good results - though it hasn't shown up in the win column for either him or his club. The right-hander seeks another solid outing for the Miami Marlins when they go for a series win against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. "I didn't give the team a chance to win," Koehler told MLB's website. Continue to Article

May 17, 2016 11:32:pm EST

After getting shelled to begin the month, Tom Koehler got back to basics and has had good results - though it hasn't shown up in the win column for either him or his club. The right-hander seeks another solid outing for the Miami Marlins when they go for a series win against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. "I didn't give the team a chance to win," Koehler told MLB's website. Continue to Article

May 17, 2016 11:32:pm EST

Tommy Joseph hit his first major league homer as part of three-hit game to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-1 win over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night. Six Phillies pitchers combined to strike out 17 Marlins. Joseph hit a solo shot in the second inning off Marlins starter Wei-Yin Chen (3-2) and hit cleanup in just third big-league game. Continue to Article

May 17, 2016 10:28:pm EST