J.T. Realmuto records seven RBIs as Phillies rout Royals in Ranger Suárez’s return

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s been a while since the Phillies had a game like this. Where everything was working in sync — pitching, hitting, defense. Trea Turner put it succinctly when he described the Phillies’ recent stretch as “weird.” But if anything, Saturday’s 11-2 win over the Royals felt normal.

J.T. Realmuto crushed not one but two three-run homers and drove in a total of seven runs, tying Carlos Ruiz’s franchise record for the most by a catcher in a single game, set May 2, 2012 in Atlanta. The Phillies combined for 18 hits and 11 runs, and went 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

They had five hitters with multi-hit games. Bryson Stott went 4-for-4, Realmuto went 3-for-5, and Nick Castellanos went 2-for-4. But perhaps more encouraging was the production from the top of the lineup.

Before Saturday night, the last time the Phillies’ first three hitters each recorded a hit was on Aug. 18. The last time they did it with Kyle Schwarber, Turner and Bryce Harper batting 1-2-3 was on Aug. 15.

Turner went hitless from Aug. 20-23. Schwarber recorded one hit over that span, with 10 strikeouts, and Harper recorded just three.

But on Saturday, they took a step in the right direction. Schwarber went 2-for-5, hitting one hard-hit double to left field, and one hard-hit double to right. Turner went 3-for-5 with two RBIs, and Harper went 1-for-5 with an RBI double to bring Turner home in the fifth.

“Our at-bats were really good tonight,” said manager Rob Thomson. “The extra-base hits, hitting the ball the other way, using the entire field. That’s what you’ve got to do.”

After a Phillies-Braves series that was short on offense — but not on strikeouts — the lineup looked more like it is supposed to look. There were threats from spots No. 1-9. They didn’t live and die by the home run; four of their 11 runs scored came off base hits, and one came from a groundout.

They will face a more formidable opponent on Sunday in Royals starter Seth Lugo, who has a 3.02 ERA and throws nine different pitches. Saturday’s Royals starter, Brady Singer, throws five, but relies mostly on two — his slider and his sinker. He is easier to prep for.

But it was a good showing regardless, and one the Phillies are keen to build on.

“It was just up and down the lineup,” said Thomson. “The only guy who didn’t get a hit is Bohm. So, it was really, really good to see everybody start to click a little bit.”

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Bohm, who finished his night 0-for-5, was just as happy for his teammates.

“It’s nice to see the whole lineup really have some success,” he said. “We’ve pitched and haven’t hit, we’ve swung okay and made some mistakes defensively, given up some runs, this and that. It’s nice to see a game where everything works right. It’s something good to build off of.”

There were other reasons to celebrate. Ranger Suárez, making his first start since July 22 after a stint on the injured list, went five innings. He allowed only one earned run on four hits with one walk and six strikeouts, throwing only 72 pitches.

His fastball velocity was in the 91-93 mph range, which is where manager Rob Thomson said he was hoping Suárez would be. But his command was what really stood out. He kept a tough lineup off-balance by throwing the kitchen sink, and putting his five pitches where he wanted to.

“Tremendous,” Thomson said of Suárez. “First-pitch strikes [were] outstanding. Efficient. Lot of soft contact. Landed his breaking ball when he needed to. Kept them off balance. He was super. Really was.

“I was worried that — I mean, he was going to be at 60 pitches after six innings. You know? And we would’ve had to send him out to the seventh, possibly. I would’ve had to make that decision. It sort of worked its way out.”

These are good problems to have. Thomson is hopeful that Suárez’s injured list stint will help him down the stretch. Suárez thinks it could, too.

“Yes, I think I feel more fresh,” he said. “Obviously, I missed four or five starts [during my time on the injured list]. But I think the important thing is how I felt today, how I looked, and I think all of that is going to build confidence for the rest of the season.”

The bullpen put together another solid performance. Orion Kerkering, who has allowed just one earned run and one walk in his last six outings, allowed no hits in the sixth inning, throwing one strikeout. Jose Ruiz gave up a sacrifice fly in the seventh, but Jeff Hoffman and Max Lazar both pitched scoreless frames after him.

Lazar has dazzled since his call-up on Aug. 9, permitting no runs or walks over the first six outings of his big league career, but was sent to triple A on Saturday night to make room on the roster for starter Kolby Allard. Allard will pitch on Sunday to give the starters an extra day of rest.