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Royals fall to a barrage of brotherly bombs, 8-4

The Royals had some unlucky outs but the Phillies provided the answer for the dilemma: hit it over the fence.

By Jeremy Greco
/ new
Zack Greinke #23 of the Kansas City Royals looks on during the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on August 06, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Perhaps Greinke thought he could get the balls to stay lower by getting lower himself.
Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

Things started very, very well for the Royals. Of their first six batters, five reached with hits and the remainder, MJ Melendez. hit a 103.5 MPH line drive that was caught by right fielder Nick Castellanos on the run. Before Zack Greinke could take the mound in the bottom of the inning, they led 3-0.

Unfortunately, none of Zack Greinke, Jonathan Heasley, or James MacArthur could keep the ball down. Greinke gave up a three-run homer to Brennan and Breana Stott’s brother, Bryson in the bottom of the first. After MJ Melendez redeemed himself by hitting an oppo shot in the top of the second, Greinke again gave up a home run. This time it was the brother of Jamin, Lindsey, Alicia, and Kelly Schwarber, Kyle and there was a runner on board, giving the Phillies a lead they would not give up for the remainder of the day.

When Heasley reliever Greinke he quickly allowed a two-run home run of his own to Ryan Castellanos’ brother, Nick. MacArthur relieved Heasley and gave up a sacrifice fly to Bryan Harper’s brother, Bryce. It was the next best thing to being a home run before Kyle Isbel made a terrific catch.

Salvador Perez left the game after the top of the third inning when he was hit on the hand by a Taijuan Walker pitch. Freddy Fermin, who had been the designated hitter, replaced him behind the dish. This almost led to Zack Greinke getting to bat in the bottom of the fourth but the Royals couldn’t get enough runners on and Greinke was left standing in the on-deck circle. When his turn to bat came up in the fifth, manager Matt Quatraro elected to allow Edward Olivares to pinch hit instead. The Royals indicated Salvy has a left-hand contusion via their twitter account. No word as of yet how long they expect him to be out.

Silver linings? Fermin had another two-hit game. That made him 6-for-12 with a pair each of home runs and doubles in the series. Michael Massey and Maikel Garcia also teamed up to make a nifty play.

The Royals will kick off a four game set with the Red Sox in Boston tomorrow. Cole Ragans will make his third start for the Royals. Bryan Bello will pitch for the Sox. Game time starts at 6:10 PM CDT.

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