Instant Replay: Phillies 4, Royals 3

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BOX SCORE

The Phillies opened their final homestand before the All-Star break with a 4-3 win over the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals at Citizens Bank Park on Friday night.
 
The Phillies’ fourth win in a row gave them a 36-45 record at the mathematical halfway point of the season.
 
The Phillies went 0-6 on their last homestand and were winless in their last seven home games, dating to June. With the victory, they avoided losing eight straight at home for the first time since 1972.
 
The Royals had won 12 of 18 coming in.
 
Starting pitching report
Jeremy Hellickson pitched well. He gave up just one run over six innings, walked one and struck out six. Four of the five hits Hellickson gave up came in the first two innings. He has given up just two earned runs over 12 innings in his last two starts, both wins. For the season, Hellickson is 6-6 with 4.06 ERA.
 
Kansas City right-hander Ian Kennedy (6-7) gave up six hits and three runs over five innings. He left trailing, 3-1. 
 
Bullpen report
Rookie Edubray Ramos allowed a leadoff double in the seventh, but got three straight outs to strand the runner and protect a three-run lead.
 
David Hernandez inherited a three-run lead in the eighth and turned it into a one-run lead when he allowed two hits, including a two-run homer.
 
Jeanmar Gomez protected the one-run lead for his 22nd save.
 
At the plate
The Phillies have reached double digits in hits eight of the last 10 games.
 
Odubel Herrera knocked in two runs for the Phillies. He led off the bottom of the first inning with a homer and had a run-scoring single in the sixth.
 
Maikel Franco had an RBI single and Cody Asche an RBI double.
 
Cameron Rupp had three hits, including two doubles. He leads the Phillies with 16 doubles.
 
Kendrys Morales had a two-run homer for the Royals in the eighth. The Royals scored a two-out run against Hellickson in the second on a double by Alcides Escobar and a single by Cheslor Cuthbert.
 
Signing day
The Phillies will sign more than a dozen 16-year-old prospects from Latin America on Saturday (see story).
 
Up next
The series continues Saturday night with Aaron Nola (5-7, 4.45) opposing Kansas City lefty Danny Duffy (3-1, 3.24). First pitch is 5:50 p.m.
 
Nola is looking to rebound from four straight poor starts in which he has had difficulty keeping the ball down. His ERA has risen from 2.65 to 4.45 over that span.

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