Nothing happened for three innings at Kauffman Stadium. Then the fourth inning settled everything. Jesus Luzardo handled the rest, and the Philadelphia Phillies left Kansas City with a 6-1 win over the Royals before 30,419 on Independence Day.
Luzardo was the story on the mound. He worked six innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits, walking none and striking out nine on 95 pitches. The performance earned him his seventh win against four losses, with a 4.18 ERA. He is now 2 wins away from 50 career victories.
The game turned in the top of the fourth. J.T. Realmuto launched a two-run homer to left center, 399 feet, with Bryson Stott scoring ahead of him to put Philadelphia up 2-0. Gabriel Rincones Jr. followed with a solo shot to right, 404 feet, extending the lead to 3-0. Kansas City answered in the bottom half when Nick Loftin reached on an infield single to third and Lane Thomas scored, cutting the deficit to 3-1. But that was as close as the Royals would get. Alec Bohm added a solo homer to center, 444 feet, in the sixth. Trea Turner scored on a wild pitch by Erceg in the seventh, and Rincones Jr. doubled to right to score Bohm in the eighth, pushing the final margin to 6-1. Rincones Jr. finished 2-for-4 with a homer, a double, and 2 RBI.
Michael Wacha absorbed the loss for Kansas City, falling to 5-6. He allowed 4 runs on 8 hits over 6 innings, striking out 7 with 1 walk on 105 pitches, carrying a 3.45 ERA. The Royals managed only 5 hits on the night and could not sustain any threat after their lone fourth-inning run.
Kansas City dropped to 35-53, extending its losing streak to three. Philadelphia fell to 49-39 despite the win, snapping a one-game skid. Luzardo, now with 7 career wins this season, sits 2 away from 50 career wins.