The day started off bright and sunny in Philadelphia as the Phillies met the Royals in their 2013 home opener at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the contest before the pitching fell apart starting in the fifth inning.
The Phillies plated 4 runs in the first three innings of the game, including solo home runs from both Dom Brown and Erik Kratz. Chase Utley continued his hot hitting early in the season, going 2 for 4 on the day with a double, while Ryan Howard also had a 2 for 4 day at the plate that included 2 RBI's. After a stellar first four innings to the game, the wheels suddenly fell off for the Phillies.
Kyle Kendrick who started the day on the mound had looked great early, cruising through the first four innings before finding himself in trouble in the fifth. Kendrick allowed two runs in the fifth and found himself with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth inning when he was removed from the game. Jeremy Horst came on and quickly allowed a bases clearing triple to surrender the lead to the Royals, 5-4. Kendrick's final line was five and two-thirds innings pitched with 5 earned runs on 8 hits, while Horst only notched one-third of an inning pitched while surrendering 3 earned runs on 3 hits.
The bleeding did not stop with Kendrick and Horst, however, as the Royals continued to pile on the runs. Chad Durbin pitched one inning while allowing 1 run before being replaced by Raul Valdes. Valdes was rocked for 4 runs on 7 hits in two innings pitched. As the Phillies pitchers fell apart, the offense fell into a lull and had no answers for the Royals rally.
After surrendering thirteen unanswered runs, the Phillies found themselves the victims of a blowout loss. They will need to quickly regroup as they play the Royals tomorrow, with John Lannan making his Phillies debut.
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