Veteran bats Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos come up big for Phillies in 8-4 win over Royals

Manager Rob Thomson has not been shy in singling out his veteran hitters for their lack of production over the past few weeks, while the younger players have been carrying the Phillies.

It’s a promising sign from a development standpoint, but not sustainable for a team looking to make a deep playoff run. It became even less sustainable when one of the young guys, Brandon Marsh, was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left knee contusion from Saturday’s game.

But as if on cue, the veteran bats have started stepping up, as evidenced Sunday in the Phillies’ 8-4 win against the Kansas City Royals at Citizens Bank Park. After dropping the series opener Friday night, the Phillies took the last two games.

The Phillies’s 12-hit attack Sunday featured three home runs, including two-run shots by veterans Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos. Bryson Stott hit the first one, a three-run shot in the first inning that tied the game after the Royals had jumped to a 3-0 lead. Schwarber snapped an 0-for-19 drought with his homer in the second inning, and Castellanos’ shot came in the fifth.

Bryce Harper piled on in the seventh, hitting a 410-foot sacrifice fly to center that scored Schwarber. Harper is hitting .379/.406/.621 over his last seven games and Castellanos is hitting .267/.290/.567 over that span with three home runs. Trea Turner, who had a two-hit night on Saturday, hit a double in the first inning.

The Phillies are still waiting for Schwarber, their leadoff hitter, to go on another extended run. He’s picked up 15 walks over his last 11 games, but has only four hits in that time. Thomson is hopeful that Sunday’s game could be the start of something. Schwarber went 3-for-4, just his second three-hit game of the season.

“He is kind of a streaky guy and he eventually comes out of it,” Thomson said of Schwarber. “That’s just the way he’s always been. So, I’ve always had confidence in him and I don’t want to miss an opportunity when he does come out of it.”

Said Schwarber: “If I’m finding my way on base and those guys can drive me in, that’s great. At the end of the day, it’s all about trying to get a win. If I can get on base and they can drive me in, that’s great. Or if I can drive someone in, that’s great. At the end of the day, that’s my job, and that’s what I’m going to do. So I’m going to make sure I’m prepared every single day.”

The home runs were just what the Phillies needed after another tough first inning for starter Taijuan Walker. Similar to his start in Miami on Monday, Walker saw his velocity dip early and increase gradually as his outing went on. In the Royals’ three-run first inning when they collected five hits, Walker threw only three pitches clocked in at 90 mph or faster. He surrendered a solo homer to MJ Melendez in the second inning.

But Walker found his footing after that. He didn’t have a good feel for his splitter, so he leaned on his curveball, instead, which worked against the Royals. His fast pitch of the day was 94.7 mph, in the third inning.

“[It’s] just really finding what pitches work on that day,” said Walker, now 13-4. “The splitter wasn’t great but I was able to throw the curveball more. Keep them off balance. Honestly, just make them put the ball in play. The defense was really good behind me, and the velo started coming back after the second inning. I started getting more confidence.”

Walker finished his day at seven innings, seven hits, one walk, and one hit batsman, with two strikeouts. The only Phillies pitcher with double-digit wins, his 13th win surpassed his career high set last year with the New York Mets, when he went 12-5.

Walker isn’t sure why his velocity has dipped in the first few innings of his last two outings, but the Phillies are looking into it.

“I don’t know if he’s going through some dead arm or what it is, but the one thing about Taijuan is that he just competes,” Thomson said. “Even if he doesn’t have his good stuff, he finds a way. He keeps battling. He adapts, adjusts. He just competes. It’s incredible what he can do.”