High-octane Phillies aim to continue roll vs. reeling Royals

The Philadelphia Phillies are closing in on the National League East title -- and they can take another step toward that goal Saturday evening when they host the Kansas City Royals.

Philadelphia (88-60) has won five straight games to drop its magic number to three as it aims to clinch its second straight division title. The Phillies also are within striking distance of the Milwaukee Brewers (90-58) for the top overall spot in the NL playoffs.

In Friday's series opener against Kansas City, Philadelphia posted an 8-2 victory behind five solid innings from Walker Buehler and a well-balanced, 14-hit attack.

Six of the Phillies' starters registered multiple hits, including Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott, both of whom homered in the comfortable victory.

"I think we're doing a good job of working counts, staying in the strike zone, using the entire field," said Phillies manager Rob Thomson, whose team has won eight of its last nine games overall.

"When you do that, that's a recipe for success offensively. And I think we're doing that right now."

Philadelphia hopes the momentum carries into Saturday when Taijuan Walker (4-8, 4.03 ERA) will look to improve on his last three starts. The veteran right-hander has given up at least four runs in each of those outings and hasn't posted a victory in any of his last six starts.

In his most recent appearance, Walker gave up four runs in the first inning Sunday before shutting down the Miami Marlins the rest of the way. He pitched six innings in a 5-4 loss.

"He couldn't find the plate in the first inning, but after that, he got after it," Thomson said. "They may have hit one ball hard off him. He did a great job."

Walker is 1-2 with a 6.12 ERA in five career starts against Kansas City.

He will oppose Ryan Bergert (2-2, 3.48), who faced Philadelphia earlier this season while with the San Diego Padres. The rookie right-hander yielded two runs and three hits in 4 2/3 innings in that start, allowing solo home runs to Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos.

Fast forward to the present and Bergert is looking to recover from the worst start of his career. He gave up eight runs and 11 hits in 3 1/3 innings Monday in a 10-2 defeat to the Cleveland Guardians.

"It didn't go the way I wanted," said Bergert, a native of nearby Canton. "It was kind of a little bit depressing, but overall a very cool experience for sure."

Kansas City (74-74) is running out of time to make a run for an American League wild-card berth. In fact, the Royals' clock realistically may have already struck midnight following Friday's loss -- the team's fifth in the last six games.

"Any time we're losing games, it's frustrating," said shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., whose team sits six games off the pace for the final AL wild-card berth. "We're going through it right now, and we don't need to be going through it. And it really (stinks)."

--Field Level Media