Trea Turner endears and Phillies endure in 9

This time, Trea Turner returned the love.

Turner had just circled the bases after his biggest — well, surely his most clutch — swing as a Phillie, a three-run home run to restore the lead in a 9-6 comeback victory Saturday night over the Royals. He hugged Johan Rojas at home plate and high-fived other teammates.

Now, though, there was the matter of acknowledging the fans.

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So, one night after receiving standing ovations before his at-bats in a show of support for his season-long struggles, Turner climbed to the top step of the dugout, removed his helmet, and pumped it in the air five times.

And the 42,326 paying customers at sold-out Citizens Bank Park loved every second of it.

“Curtain calls are special,” Turner said. “I like watching other teammates do it, not necessarily being the guy up there. But it means you did something big in a big moment. It was fun.”

It was also a long time coming — 111 games, not that anyone was counting.

The Phillies signed Turner to an 11-year, $300 million contract in the offseason because team officials believe he’s one of the 10 best players in the sport. It’s hard to argue. He has been among the most dynamic players since 2016, with machinelike consistency year over year en route to a .294 career average and .821 on-base plus slugging.

But as he came to the plate in the sixth inning, the Phillies having blown another two-run lead and trailing 6-5, the numbers on Phanavision were stark.

.235 average

.654 OPS

“[There are] no words that need to be said about everything that’s happened this year,” said Brandon Marsh, who left the game in the fifth inning with a bruised left knee. “We know what kind of player Trea is. We know where his potential can be.”

As Turner stood in, after J.T. Realmuto got hit by a pitch and Rojas singled on a popped-up bunt, the Royals met at the mound to discuss how to attack him. They decided on a first-pitch sinker from lefty Angel Zerba.

Turner ambushed it, launching it into the left-field bleachers.

Cue the delirium.

“They keep doing that to me. I feel like every at-bat there’s a mound visit,” said Turner, who hadn’t homered since July 8, a span of 21 games and 96 plate appearances. “I wasn’t necessarily looking for a fastball, but you kind of have a game plan of how hard a guy throws, what he throws. And then you try to put the barrel on the ball.”

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Turner’s homer came one inning after Bryce Harper clocked a two-run shot to draw the Phillies within one run. At last, the Phillies’ best players led the way.

A sports-talk radio campaign Friday urged fans to rally behind Turner. The fans obliged, a gesture that Turner described as “really [freaking] cool.” He punched an RBI single Friday night, but the Phillies blew a pair of two-run leads in a series-opening loss to the 36-76 Royals.

But in manager Rob Thomson’s view, the whole thing seemed to help change Turner’s mood amid the toughest time of his career.

“I think it just maybe loosened him up a little bit,” Thomson said. “I know he’s been grinding, he’s been working, he’s been trying to get back to where he normally is. He’s just got to be Trea Turner.”

Turner’s head dropped so low this week that he could’ve dragged the infield. He got moved to eighth in the batting order, made a costly error in an extra-innings loss, and hit in the cage into the wee hours Wednesday night even with a day game looming Thursday.

“I forgot about that a long time ago,” Turner said. “My wife doesn’t like it, but I focus on one thing at a time and she tries to plan everything out. I focus on what’s in front of me.”

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In that case, the at-bat after Turner’s homer was as encouraging as the homer itself. He lined an RBI double to the gap in left-center field, a sign that maybe something is building beyond one big hit.

The Phillies can only hope.

“The double’s nice, but just felt good to take [another] good swing,” Turner said. “To have my swing come out and not roll that ball over, hit a ground ball, I think was really good.”

Alec Bohm went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and walk. He’s 11-for-25 with four doubles, one homer, and four walks since being moved into Turner’s vacated No. 2 spot in the order.

Thomson said he prefers a combination of high on-base skills and power in the No. 2 spot. Bohm landed there primarily because he was swinging a hotter bat since the All-Star break than Nick Castellanos, the first choice to stand-in for Turner.

“He doesn’t hit [as] many home runs and he doesn’t walk very much, but he can hit,” Thomson said of Bohm. “And right now he’s getting on base. Right now he’s getting on base more than anybody.”

When Sánchez pitches, ant farms usually quiver. Entering Saturday, he ranked second in the NL with a 56.5% ground ball rate. It’s the secret to how the lefty stabilized the Phillies’ fifth-starter spot.

But the Royals hit him hard by putting the ball in the air.

Sánchez gave up two solo homers to Freddy Fermin and Taylor’s triple. Like Aaron Nola one night earlier, he coughed up a two-run lead. The Royals tagged Sánchez for six runs on six hits, chasing him from a 6-4 game after five innings.

It marked the first time in nine starts since getting called up from triple A that Sánchez gave up more than three earned runs.