By Nick Mandarano, contributor 
Final: Royals 6, Phillies 1 ❖
PHILADELPHIA, PA — Despite an early lead in the first inning, the Phillies were not able to hang on. The Royals struck Aaron Nola for five runs in the second inning. Before exiting the game after five innings, Nola did manage to retire the last ten batters that he faced. He threw 95 pitches with 68% of them as strikes. It wasn't a terrible day for Nola outside of his one rough inning. Tonight was the fist time Aaron Nola has made it past the fourth inning since June 5. Including today, Nola's posted a 13.50 ERA and 2.56 WHIP in his last five starts.
Danny Duffy pitched outstandingly for the Royals, allowing just two runs in 8.2 innings. After Carlos Ruiz reached base and scored on a single by Cesar Hernandez in the bottom of the ninth, Ned Yost decided to bring in Joakim Soria to finish the game. Needing just one out, Soria was able to strike out Jimmy Paredes and secured the 6-2 victory for Kansas City.
The loss breaks a four-game winning streak for the Phillies. The two teams will face off in the rubber match tomorrow afternoon at 1:35 p.m.
WP: Danny Duffy (4-1, 3.24 ERA) ❖ LP: Aaron Nola (5-8, 4.69 ERA)
Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| KC | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 0 |
| PHI |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
Peter Bourjos tripled in his first at-bat in the top of the first inning to extend his hitting streak to eleven games. Later in the inning, Maikel Franco hit a ball up the middle with two outs that went off Danny Duffy's glove. Duffy recovered, but made an errant throw to first base, allowing Franco to reach safely and Bourjos to score and give the Phillies an early 1-0 lead.
In the top of the second inning, the Royals were able to seize the lead with a five-run inning. Cheslor Cuthbert led off with a single on a line drive to centerfield. He was then able to advance to second on Alcides Escobar's single and then to third on a fielder's choice. Danny Duffy bunted a ball in the air that landed between the pitcher and shortstop, enabling Cuthbert to score. Jarrod Dyson, who reached on the fielder's choice, scored two batters later when Whit Merrifield singled into rightfield. Kendrys Morales then cleared the bases with a three-run home run from the left side of the plate to give the Royals a 5-1 lead.
Later, in the top half of the eighth inning, Morales went deep again. This time, it was a solo shot from the right side and put the Royals up 6-1.
The Phillies were able to score once more. Carlos Ruiz was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning and took second base on a defensive indifference. He then scored on a single by Cesar Hernandez through the left side to cut the deficit to four runs.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Duffy | 8.2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 3.11 |
| Aaron Nola | 5.0 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 4.69 |
Diamondbacks
- Kendrys Morales: 2-3, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB .267 AVG
- Whit Merrifield: 2-4, 2B, R, RBI, .315 AVG
- Cheslor Cuthbert: 2-4, R, .274 AVG
Phillies
- Peter Bourjos: 2-4, R, 3B, .267 AVG
- Maikel Franco: 2-4, RBI, .251 AVG
- Cesar Hernandez: 2-4, RBI, .279 AVG
Royals
- Joakim Soria: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 3.11 ERA
Phillies
- Severino Gonzalez: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 4.66 ERA
- Adam Morgan: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR, 6.31 ERA
What's Next
- Sunday, July 3, 2016: at Kansas City Royals, 1:35 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park
- RHP Vince Velasquez (6-2, 3.38 ERA) vs. RHP Yordano Ventura (6-5, 5.00 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
