Overview
- The Phillies beat the Kansas City Royals 6-1 at Kauffman Stadium on July 4 as Jesús Luzardo worked six innings with nine strikeouts while allowing one run.
- Luzardo’s start continued a strong run in which he has yielded fewer than three earned runs in nine of his last 10 starts and has cut his ERA from 5.77 on May 8 to roughly 3.75.
- Philadelphia broke a scoreless game in the fourth on back-to-back homers by J.T. Realmuto and Gabriel Rincones Jr., and Alec Bohm added a solo shot in the sixth.
- Royals starter Michael Wacha, pitching his first start after being named an All-Star, allowed four runs and three homers in six innings while Kansas City managed five hits, drew no walks and struck out 15 times.
- Phillies pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts with no walks as the bullpen threw scoreless frames to seal the win and the teams will meet Sunday with Aaron Nola scheduled to face Luinder Avila; audible fireworks around the stadium disrupted the broadcast late in the game.