Phillies fuel comeback win over Royals, reducing NL East-clinching magic number to just one

When the Phillies opened their current homestand on Monday, their magic number to win the National League East was 13.

But 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, it had already shrunk to two.

Over in Queens, the Mets’ collapse continued with a 3-2 loss to the Texas Rangers, pushing the Phillies closer to the divisional title. Soon after, the Phillies’ 8-6 comeback win over Kansas City brought them right to the doorstep.

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With a magic number of one, the Phillies can clinch the NL East on Sunday at home with either another win over the Royals or a Mets loss.

“To do it in front of our fan base would be special,” said manager Rob Thomson.

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.

“In the first inning, cutter up and away, thought it was a good pitch [on a] 3-2 [count] to Salvy,” Walker said. “Just put a good swing on it. Looking back at it, some of the pitches, I mean, they’re on the black, wasn’t really middle of the plate.”

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.

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

“It’s great, as a starting pitcher, to go down 3-0, 4-0, and just know that our guys are going to come back,” Walker said. “Everyone’s swinging the bat.”

Meanwhile, the offense steadily chipped away. Five 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 multihit 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.

“[Bader’s] doing a fantastic job ever since he got here,” Schwarber said. “I feel like the way that he’s taking at-bats, he goes about his business the right way. He has his routine, he has his game plan. He has a fire underneath him, and he plays the game the right way. And everyone gravitates towards that.”

Schwarber tied things up, 4-4, in the fifth with his 51st homer of the year, barreling up a slider from lefty reliever Angel Zerpa. From there, the offense continued to add on. Nick Castellanos, pinch-hitting against Zerpa for Max Kepler, hit a sacrifice fly to score Harper. Otto Kemp followed that up with an RBI double.

It was a matchup decision to bring Castellanos in at that point since the Royals did not have a right-hander up in their bullpen, Thomson said.

“And that’s their best left-hander. And I thought that was just the time to go,” he said. “If we take the lead here, we got a good shot, and we can go to our ’pen and hopefully win the ballgame.”

Marsh hit his 10th homer of the year in the seventh for some more insurance. He finished with three RBIs.

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

Even with half the everyday infield on the injured list in Trea Turner (hamstring strain) and Alec Bohm (shoulder inflammation), the Phillies have won six straight.

“It seems like there’s different guys every night, too, and that’s a good thing to have,” Thomson said. “That’s when you kind of go on these types of runs.”

Once the division is wrapped up, the Phillies still have their sights set on a first-round bye and the top record in the National League. But they have an opportunity to check off their first goal at home on Sunday, before departing on a six-game West Coast road trip.

“It’d be fantastic,” Schwarber said. “Our fans have been great all year, showing up for us. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Wednesday getaway or Sunday night game. They’ve just been showing out for us. And we feel the energy every single night, and we latch on to this thing. So if we can do it at home, in front of them, let them celebrate with us as well. That’d be really cool thing for us.”