Final Score: PHI 11 | KC 3

Overall Record: 72-58

Winning/Losing Pitcher

• W: Kolby Allard (2-0 | 3.50 ERA)
• L: Seth Lugo (14-8 | 3.19 ERA)

Key Highlights

Let’s be honest. This one was pretty ugly. It stayed pretty close at first, with the Phillies taking the lead to start the game, but Seth Lugo was able to get out of a couple jams. Things could’ve gone much worse, but when you give up 18 hits on the day there’s only so much you can do. Lugo leaves giving up five earned and six runs total. He couldn’t make it out of the sixth inning, and just spiraled in that inning. Let’s get back to how it happened though. First: nine hitter, Garrett Stubbs, had the game of his life. Finishing 4-4, a homer shy of the cycle. To summarize it fully, the 7-8-9 hitters totaled eight hits, scoring six runs just by themselves. What does that tell us? With a lineup like the Phillies, if you don’t get the bottom of the lineup out, you are begging to get all of the runs home. The star power that they possess is just so good that any mistakes that you make, they will just make you pay for any and all of them. That star power we talked about? Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Alec Bohm, and Nick Castellanos calculated nine RBI between the four of them. So not only was the bottom of the lineup hitting and getting on base, the top and middle were driving everyone in. Just a complete effort from the Fighting Phils on Sunday. 

On top of that, their pitching did a hell of a job limiting the damage from Royals bats. Bobby Witt Jr. hit an absolute moonshot off the batter’s eye in centerfield, making that feat look easy. 

He made it a 2-1 game at that point, but he can’t do it all. Maikel Garcia and MJ Melendez also gave us a couple solo shots as well, but it wasn’t enough. There’s only so much you can do when you give up 11 total runs. 

Will Smith gives up five of those, and had a knack for finding the middle of the plate during his outing. He really needs to step up to make this bullpen a little more scary than it is now. He was supposed to be a key cog, and now we wipe the slate clean. Only thing that matters is what happens from now on. Just not a fun performance by the boys in blue, and I hope that this is the wake up call they need, because it doesn’t get easier from here. 

Summary of the Next Game

The Royals will look to bounce back this week, but it will be a tough road. They have a doubleheader to start the roadtrip against the first place Cleveland Guardians. Cole Ragans is on the mound for game one for the Royals and Nick Sandlin for the Guardians. Logan Allen then takes the ball in game two for Cleveland and Alec Marsh in game two as the 27th man for Kansas City. Very important series for both teams heading into this one. Cleveland has a chance to leave the Royals in the dust, while Kansas City is able to make up some ground and keep competing for the division crown. Game one starts at 12:10, with game two beginning at 5:40. We have extra baseball for a Monday, how could it be any better? It’s time for the Royals to show what they’re really made of. Because their playoff fate could be determined here by this series if it goes wrong.