ST PETERSBURG, Fla. _ Scott Kingery drove in three runs and Aaron Altherr snapped a hitless streak with a three-run homer as the Phillies rolled past the Rays, 10-4, on Sunday to complete their second straight sweep.
Kingery's three-run double in the third gave the Phillies a two-run lead. It was his seventh double this season and 12th RBI. Kingery's double off the center-field wall came on the 31st pitch of the inning as the Phillies wore down Rays left-hander Ryan Yarbrough before Kingery struck.
Altherr was hitless in his last 14 at-bats before he homered in the eighth. His last two hits are home runs. Altherr also made a diving catch to end the sixth. He fully extended to nab Denard Span's sharp liner to right and kept two runs from scoring.
Maikel Franco drove in two runs in the eighth when his bases-loaded grounder went through the legs of Rays third baseman Matt Duffy.
The Phillies could do no wrong.
The Phillies will arrive in Atlanta Sunday night almost unrecognizable from how they departed the city in disarray just two weeks ago. They have won six in a row and a win on Monday would be their first seven-game winning streak since 2012. The Phillies have won eight of their last nine games and Sunday completed their third-straight series win. The misfortunes of that first series in Atlanta _ when the Phillies dropped two of three and inserted a pitcher without warming him up _ feel further away with each win.
Gabe Kapler asked his bullpen to record the final 15 outs. They delivered. Hoby Milner, Yacksel Rios, Luis Garcia, Adam Morgan pieced together the final five innings. Kapler lifted Ben Lively after just four innings and matched up his relievers. It worked.
