KANSAS CITY -- Alex Gordon continues to drink from the fountain of youth.

After three straight down seasons, Gordon, 35, is having fun again, producing at a career rate.

Gordon drilled two home runs off Phillies starter Jake Arrieta in the Royals’ 5-1 victory on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.

Gordon, who hit .220, .208 and .245 over the previous three seasons, now has eight home runs and 30 RBIs, the latter second best on the team. His second home run also was the 1,500th hit of his career.

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“That [1,500] is a nice number,” Gordon said, smiling. “It took me a while to get there. Halfway to George [Brett]. I don’t know how he did that. It’s cool. I’m lucky to have played this game this long, lucky to have gotten 1,500 hits. Happy to do it.”

Royals manager Ned Yost decided to give Gordon a day off on Wednesday in Houston, essentially giving him over 48 hours with Thursday’s off-day. Gordon normally doesn’t like off-days, but he doesn’t mind as much anymore.

“Ned’s a smart man,” Gordon said. “He knows what he’s doing. Every time he comes up and tells me I’m having a day off now, I just say, ‘Hey, you’re the boss. You know what you’re doing. Whatever you think is best, let’s do it.’ I’ve been able to enjoy days off a lot more [now] and just let the body relax.

“We had two days off so I really felt it. Felt fresh and good.”

Gordon jumped on a 3-1 slider in the first off Arrieta and drove it out to right, a two-run shot that traveled a projected 429 feet, according to Statcast. That gave the Royals a 2-0 lead.

In the fifth, Gordon belted a 2-0 sinker from Arrieta into the right-field seats for a 3-1 lead.

Gordon’s home runs were his two hardest-hit home runs since Statcast started tracking -- 111 mph exit velocity, and 110 mph.

“I don’t, like, really pay attention to Statcast,” Gordon said, “but I knew I hit them well. The first one, I just kind of admired a little.”

Barlow does some dealing

No doubt the pitching hero was reliever Scott Barlow, who entered in the sixth inning in a 3-1 game after starter Homer Bailey allowed soft singles to the first two hitters.

Barlow got out of the inning with three strikeouts sandwiched around a walk. He then struck out the side in the seventh, and pumped his fist and shouted enthusiastically as he walked toward the dugout.

“When you’re in a situation like that,” Barlow said, “it’s hard not to be jacked up.”

Bailey was impressed.

“You can't say enough good words about what the bullpen did tonight,” Bailey said. “Those last four innings, there in the sixth when Scotty came in ... just absolutely outstanding. You could probably say that about the entire game really, right? The offense was there; our defense was flawless.”

Barlow is becoming perhaps the Royals’ most dominant reliever. He lowered his ERA to 1.96 and he now has 28 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings. He is enjoying life in high-leverage situations.

“When you go in situations like that there’s a lot of adrenaline,” he said, “and a lot of confidence as well. I think confidence is the key thing, confident in yourself, confident in your team.”