And then, there was one: Phillies 8, Royals 6

Two weeks ago, had I told you that the Phillies would be able to clinch their division tomorrow, would you have believed me? The vibes were bad, the team felt shaky, but the lead was still theirs. Following the sweep at the hands of the Mets at Citi Field, there was unease surrounding the team and where they would ultimately finish in the hierarchy of the season.

Now? With the help of the collapse of the Mets and their own solid play, the Phillies, with a win over the Royals this evening, are one win away from capturing the National League East for the second consecutive season. Tonight, it was just more of what we have come to expect from the team of late.

Taijuan Walker was on the hill and the Royals were able to tag him for a few runs in the first inning. Vinnie Pasquantino doubled with two outs in the frame, Maikel Garcia singled to bring him home, then scored himself when Salvador Perez launched a baseball for a two-run home run that made it 3-0.

However, lately, the Phillies don’t seem to be bothered by being down a few runs early. “Lots of game left,” is likely a common refrain in the dugout. That held true yet again when in the first, Harrison Bader singled and Kyle Schwarber walked to put the first two men on. Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto struck out to make it hairy, but Brandon Marsh continued his hot hitting by doubling and bringing both runners home.

In the third, Walker gave back one of those runs when Perez drove another ball into the seats, this one a career milestone for him as the home run gave him 300 for his career. It also happened to be that he drove himself in for his 1,000th RBI, two big accomplishments for the big man.

Yet still, the Phillies didn’t seem out of it. Realmuto got a sacrifice fly in the third to make it 4-3, but the big blow was in the fifth. Usually, when the team needs a shift in momentum, there has been one guy that has been able to do so with one swing of his bat. Tonight, the NL MVP candidate did it again.

From there, they just kept adding on, bit by bit.

A sacrifice fly by Nick Castellanos in the fifth inning. An RBI double by Otto Kemp following that. An RBI single from Schwarber in the sixth. It just continues to be impressive how well they have been playing while behind on the scoreboard.

The bullpen tonight decided to try and be an issue. In the seventh, Matt Strahm allowed a run to make it 7-5 and put us a bit more upright in our viewing. Marsh would homer in the bottom of the inning to get that run back, a helpful run indeed.

David Robertson took his turn giving us a few flutters in the stomach by allowing a Royals run to make it 8-6, but in the ninth, the team turned to the best trade deadline acquisition in the game in Jhoan Duran.

That’s unfair.

And now here we are, one win away from taking the division. The bye that would allow them to bypass the first round is a pretty important as well, so more wins helps that secure that goal.

Tonight was a big step.

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