On July 4, 1776, Philadelphia was the site of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, but Kansas City was the site of plenty of Phillies bombs bursting in air as the offense clobbered three home runs en route to a 6-1 victory over the Royals on Saturday night.

Another night when Philly’s offense stayed consistent and their strong pitching delivered, they were led to victory during the franchise’s 214th game on Independence Day. The victory brought their record to 107-107 on the nation’s birthday, their first on July 4 since 2023. The club has played the third-most games on July 4th in the league behind the Cubs and Pirates.

Oddly enough – fresh off being named an All-Star Game starter, Brandon Marsh was the only hitter who did not record a hit Saturday.

Luzardo shoved on the mound, the bats showed out at the plate, and Philly was victorious once again. They have not lost a series in four weeks and started this one off with a, well, a few bangs. Let’s break it down.

Bats stay hot on the road

After pummeling the Pirates for 26 runs over four games, including handing Paul Skenes the worst start of his career, Philadelphia’s bats remained awake and decided to celebrate the holiday explosively.

Two home runs came in the fourth inning. The first was of the two-run variety off the bat of J.T. Realmuto. After rolling over on a 2-0 pitch in the second, Realmuto looked upset. He went up there in the fourth focused.

“First at-bat, first of all, I thought it was the four-seam. I just didn’t see the cutter well and pulled off it a little bit,” the Phillies catcher told Ben Davis and Tom McCarthy on NBC Philadelphia’s Phillies Postgame Live. “My next at-bat, I was just focused on getting something to drive to right-center. When he left me the sinker in, I just put a good swing on [it]. Just try to fix that front hip, stay in there and hit the ball to right-center.”

Gabriel Rincones Jr. continued his recent stretch of finding himself with a homer just two pitches after Realmuto’s. Rincones’ second career home run marked the first time Phillies hitters went back-to-back and slugger Kyle Schwarber wasn’t a part of it this season. He would go on to add another RBI on an eighth-inning double.

The fireworks would not stop there, as Alec Bohm delivered a bomb 444 feet to center field, bursting into the center field seats in the sixth frame. 

Trea Turner scored another run on a wild pitch in the seventh before the aforementioned RBI double in the eighth. All in all, Philly’s offense celebrated in a big way on the road while back home celebrations were held throughout the city. 

Luzardo’s impressive outing

Jesús Luzardo showed the side of himself last night that earned a five-year, $135 million contract in the off-season. He allowed four hits, one run and struck out nine in six innings – six of which came in the first three frames. It was the 10th time in his 18 starts that Luzardo pitched six or more innings. 

Last night, his sweeper was the standout pitch – a pitch that he did not have the same feel for early in the season. I lost some feel for it,” Luzardo said of his sweeper to reporters postgame. “I almost feel I threw it so much I lost the feel for it. But lately, the last five or six starts, it’s felt like it’s back and maybe even can get better.”

He now sits with a 7-4 record and holds a 3.75 ERA overall, but his FIP is down to 2.96, showing much better pitching than the results have shown thus far in 2026.

Bats provided the fireworks on the nation’s holiday, but Luzardo provided plenty of fuse for an exciting win to kick off the rare Saturday-through-Monday series in Kansas City.

Keywords

Phillies,

Royals,

Philadelphia,

Kansas City,

Jesús Luzardo,

Alec Bohm,

J.T. Realmuto,

Gabriel Rincones Jr.,

Phillies recap