Phillies rally for 8-6 win vs. Royals, reduce NL East-clinching magic number to just one

Lochlahn March, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Sep 13, 2025

Published in Baseball

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PHILADELPHIA — Just before Kyle Schwarber came up to the plate in the fifth inning on Saturday and launched a game-tying home run against the Royals, over in Queens, the Mets were collapsing against the Texas Rangers.

The Mets’ 3-2 loss initially reduced the Phillies’ magic number to win the division to two. And the Phillies soon did their part to shrink it even further. Following their 8-6 comeback win over Kansas City, the Phillies can now clinch the National League East on Sunday with either a win over the Royals or a Mets loss.

The Phillies trailed early after starter Taijuan Walker ran into some trouble in the first inning. He got two quick outs to start the game, but then Kansas City scored three runs on a double, a single and a home run from Salvador Perez.

The Royals put two more runners in scoring position with another single and double, but Walker ended the frame after fielding a comebacker from Carter Jensen.

Walker settled in after that. Outside of another home run from Perez in the third — this time a solo shot — he held the Royals off the scoreboard until he was lifted after the fifth.

Meanwhile, the offense steadily chipped away. Five different players finished with at least one RBI. The Phillies got two runs back in the first when Harrison Bader singled, Schwarber walked and Brandon Marsh hit a double to drive both in.

Another run scored in the third inning. Once again, Bader got things started with a single — marking his sixth consecutive multi-hit game — and then advanced on a Schwarber walk and a wild pitch from Royals pitcher Ryan Bergert. J.T. Realmuto hit a sacrifice fly to bring Bader home.

After Schwarber tied things up in the fifth, barreling up a slider from lefty reliever Angel Zerpa, the offense continued to add on. Nick Castellanos, pinch hitting against Zerpa for Max Kepler, hit a sacrifice fly to score Bryce Harper. Otto Kemp followed that up with an RBI double.

Marsh hit his 10th homer of the year in the seventh for some even more insurance.

Kansas City scored a run against Matt Strahm in the seventh and another against David Robertson in the eighth, but Jhoan Duran tossed a 1-2-3 inning to earn his 30th save of the season.