KANSAS CITY (Interstat) — Jesús Luzardo struck out nine over six strong innings and the Philadelphia Phillies hit three home runs to defeat the Kansas City Royals 6-1 on Saturday, July 4, 2026, at Kauffman Stadium.

The Phillies (50-39) broke open a scoreless game in the fourth inning. J.T. Realmuto hit a two-run homer, his sixth, and Gabriel Rincones Jr. followed with a solo shot, his second, to give Philadelphia a 3-0 lead. The Royals (35-54) answered in the bottom half when Nick Loftin singled home Lane Thomas, who had doubled. That was all the offense Kansas City could muster against Luzardo and four relievers.

Luzardo allowed four hits and one earned run, walking none and striking out nine. He retired the side in order in the first, second and third innings, striking out five over that span. The left-hander allowed only a Tyler Tolbert single in the third and then the run-scoring double to Thomas and Loftin’s single in the fourth. He settled down and faced the minimum over the fifth and sixth, finishing with 96 pitches.

Michael Wacha (5-6) took the loss, allowing eight hits and four earned runs over six innings. He struck out seven but surrendered the two home runs in the fourth.

Alec Bohm added a solo homer in the sixth, his 11th, to extend the lead to 4-1. Philadelphia tacked on a run in the seventh on an RBI double by Rincones that scored Bohm, who had doubled earlier. The Phillies added another run in the eighth on an RBI double by Rincones, his first double of the season, scoring Bohm again.

Philadelphia finished with 12 hits. Kyle Schwarber had two singles, and Trea Turner, Bryson Stott and Justin Crawford also contributed. For Kansas City, Tolbert went 2 for 2 with a stolen base. The Royals managed only five hits total.

The Phillies bullpen shut the door. Orion Kerkering struck out two in a perfect seventh, Tim Mayza fanned one in a scoreless eighth and Jonathan Bowlan struck out three in the ninth, allowing one hit.

Attendance was 30,419. The game lasted 2 hours, 34 minutes.

The most important sequence came in the fourth inning when Realmuto’s home run broke a scoreless tie and Rincones followed with a solo shot, putting the Phillies ahead for good. Luzardo’s ability to limit damage after the Royals’ lone run kept the momentum on Philadelphia’s side.

The two teams continue their series Sunday, with the Phillies sending right-hander Zack Wheeler to the mound against Royals righty Brady Singer.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Philadelphia 7, Kansas City 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave Philadelphia a 59.90 percent probability to win. Philadelphia was a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of 7 runs went over the over-under line of 8.5.