Sep 12, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Walker Buehler (31) throws a pitch against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher
The hits just keep on coming.
In Friday night's win over the Kansas City Royals, the Phillies' offense bestowed a great gift upon Walker Buehler: run support.
Although he had traffic on the bases in four of his five innings pitched, Walker Buehler had a solid Phillies debut. His lone run allowed came via a Maikel Garcia RBI single in the top of the first inning.
The Phillies tied the game in the bottom of the second, thanks to Rafael Marchán's sacrifice fly with the bases loaded:
Rafael Marchán ties the game at 1-1 with a bases-loaded sac fly!
(via @aokstott)pic.twitter.com/3iHQNzWVTE
The offense picked up in the bottom of the third. Bryce Harper gave the Phils their first lead of the evening with a two-run opposite-field home run:
His Royal Harp-ness👑pic.twitter.com/d6tlbWBuOx
Then, before the Royals registered an out, Brandon Marsh tripled and Otto Kemp brought him home:
Kemp-ing it real💯pic.twitter.com/5imy5Aj72G
And it didn't stop there. Three straight doubles by Marchán, Harrison Bader and Kyle Schwarber in the bottom of the fourth knocked in two more runs:
Harrison Bader is on FIRE🔥📞
(via @aokstott)pic.twitter.com/cdo7YAaE6t
Kyle Schwarber schwlides into second👀
(via @aokstott)pic.twitter.com/sCnXAuD9lc
Those consecutive doubles chased Royals starter and former Phillie Michael Lorenzen out of the game after giving up six runs.
Bader's RBI double marked his tenth multi-hit game as a Phillie, and his sixth multi-hit game in September alone.
Buehler left the game after five innings pitched, in which he allowed five hits and one run while striking out three, walking one and hitting one batter.
Bobby Witt Jr.'s RBI groundout cut the Phillies' lead down to 6-2 in the top of the seventh. However, Bryson Stott answered quickly in the bottom of the seventh, matching his home run total from 2024 and setting a career high with 63 RBIs:
Bryson Stott with a no-doubter! 💣
pic.twitter.com/myl1s0ouKJ
At the All-Star Break in July, Stott's batting average was .234. He's had a remarkable turnaround since then, hitting .301 after the break and .379 in the month of September.
After reaching the mark in the last three games of the New York Mets series, Friday was the fourth straight game in which the Phillies registered 11 or more hits. The bats are definitely cooking with gas.
Next up, the Phillies will face the Royals for the second game of the series at Citizens Bank Park Saturday night.
