Digital Sports Desk

Online Destination for the Best in Boston Sports

Kansas City Royals

Yankees Survive and Advance

by

KANSAS CITY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New York starting pitcher Gerrit Cole threw seven effective innings, and Gleyber Torres, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton each supplied key hits Thursday night to lead the Yankees to a 3-1 victory against the Kansas City Royals in a decisive Game 4 of the American League Division Series.

After failing to reach the postseason a year ago but with the win, the Yankees advanced to the American League Championship Series for the second time in three seasons and for the fourth time since 2017. New York won’t learn of its opponent in the ALCS until Saturday, when the Cleveland Guardians are scheduled to host the Detroit Tigers for Game 5 of that ALDS. The Guardians extended their series with a 5-4 victory against the Tigers on Thursday.

The Royals, coming off a 56-106 record in 2023, advanced beyond the wild-card round under manager Matt Quatraro in their first postseason trip since 2015, when they won their franchise’s second World Series. Star shortstop Bobby Witt went 2-for-17 (.118) with a walk in the series.

Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who came in struggling in the postseason after making himself the favorite to win AL MVP in the regular season, hit a hard double in two at-bats, scored a run, walked twice and stole a base.

Benches and bullpens cleared briefly in the bottom of the sixth inning following a slide into second by the Royals’ Maikel Garcia and Anthony Volpe’s tag for a key double play.

After grinding to a no-decision in the series opener, Cole (1-0) allowed a run and six hits to go with four strikeouts. He kept the Royals off the scoreboard through five innings and pitched out of a jam in the sixth.

New York’s bullpen continued to dominate with Clay Holmes taking the eighth and Luke Weaver finishing in the ninth for his third save of the series. Yankees relievers combined to allow zero runs in 15 2/3 innings in the series.

The Yankees scored quickly against right-hander Michael Wacha who, like Cole, also started Game 1. Three pitches into the first inning, Soto lined an RBI single to right, scoring Torres after he had doubled, to give New York a 1-0 lead.

Wacha (0-1) kept the Yankees from adding more until two outs in the fifth, when Torres lined an RBI single to right, knocking in Alex Verdugo from third. Lucas Erceg then replaced Wacha to put out the rally.

Stanton, who hit the go-ahead home run late in Game 3, came through again with an RBI single in the sixth for 3-0 lead.

The Royals pushed across a run in the sixth when Vinnie Pasquantino hit an RBI double to score Witt with two outs, but strong Yankees defense thwarted KC’s best chance for a bigger inning.

After Garcia led off with a single, first baseman Jon Berti and Volpe turned a Michael Massey grounder into a neat 1-6 double play. Garcia slid hard and Volpe made a dedicated tag for a second out, but Garcia didn’t leave the field immediately. He appeared to jaw with a third Yankees player, which led to a stoppage before heads cooled.

After Pasquantino’s RBI, Salvador Perez popped out to end the inning.

–David Brown, Field Level Media

Going to Kansas City, Here I Come

by

Special Edition: While We’re Young (Ideas)

By TERRY LYONS, Editor in Chief, Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – On a rather quiet night on the Boston sports scene, a fan must turn his/or/her lonely eyes West, towards Kansas City – the one in Missouri, not Kansas for the geographically-challenged Presidential candidate.

Yes, Kansas City – the city that celebrated two big professional sports victories Monday night.

KC Royals catcher Salvador Pérez hit a baseball out where there once stood South Bronx tenements and otherwise nothingness, before the palace that Jeter built was erected. But, if it were the old Yankee Stadium or the middle semi-renovated version of Yankee Stadium, the ball would’ve landed out by Monument Park, the same place George Brett used to hit them for the Royals.

MLB Postseason Baseball (KC vs SF in World Series)

Perez’ solo homer was part of a big fourth inning that turned a 1-0 New York lead into a 4-1 KC advantage which held up as a 4-2 victory to even the American League Division Series at 1-1 as the clubs pack up and head west.

At the same time, out at Arrowhead Stadium in KC, the Chiefs were puttin’ a ‘hurtin on the New Orleans Saints, in a lopsided 26-13 victory where Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes threw for 331 yards on 28-of-39 while RB Kareem Hunt came from a locker full of mothballs to run for 102 yards and a TD while carrying the ball 27 times. Yes 27 times.

Another key to the KC football victory was 27-year old JuJu Smith-Schuster who secured seven of eight targets for 130 yards. Most NFL and New England Patriots observers do not need to be reminded, Smith-Schuster was recetly released from the Patriots’ wide receiver room, a place occupied by the distinguished DeMario Douglas, Ja’Lynn Polk, and oft-injured Kendrick Bourne – the latter having played one game and has one catch to his credit on the 2024 season.

The proven point is that a city which used to have October nights filled with David “Big Papi” Ortiz postseason baseball homers or game-winning Tom Brady to Julian Edelman touchdowns now has only a hard-fought Wakefield vs. Arlington high school soccer game on the books (Wakefield won, 4-3).

Meanwhile, Kansas City’s Royals clocked a big ALDS series victory on the road at Yankee Stadium and KC’s Chiefs won an important cross-conference Monday Night Football game to extend their unbeaten streak to five games, resistering as the only team in the NFL to be 5-0 in a season at the quarter pole.

Instead of world class model Gisele Bundchen and the kids skipping along on the sidelines, rooting for the World’s No. 1 quarterback Tom Brady, we were submitted to the return of World No. 1 pop star Taylor Swift returning to Arrowhead Stadium after taking two road games off. Her return prompted beau Travis Kelce to his best game of the new season, with the tight end grabbing a hefty nine catches for 70 yards, and averaging 7.8 yards per reception. Oh, the humanity.

While New England fans are starved without Sausage Guy leftovers on Landsdowne Street, the Kansas City faithful can go upscale BBQ at Q39, or head over to Arthur Bryant’s or Chef J BBQ for some pork belly burnt ends which are far better than New England burned corners and safeties.

The Chiefs are destined for a run at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, Red Sox fans are destined for a winter of Polar Park and also a spring trip to Worcester to watch AAA ball, seeking out WooSox prospects between snowflakes.

While the Royals might upset the mighty Yankees, Patriots fans might be watching the worst team in the entire NFL, a club with a four game losing streak that’s likely to grow to five when the Houston Texans land in Foxborough this weekend. Only an October 20 contest vs Jacksonville (in London) might solve the troubles that first year head coach Jerod Mayo is facing this season.

Earlier in the season, rookie Javon Baker made a poor decision and posted an angry video after receiving a traffic ticket from one of Massachusetts’ finest. That spurt of hot water turned boiling this past weekend when team captain, safety Jabrill Peppers was arrested and later arraigned for alleged charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault of a family/household member, strangulation, and – the kicker, tough to deny, possession of a Class B substance, which allegedly tested as white powder cocaine.

That’s a quarter-season of misery for Mayo, owner of a resume that reads 1-4 (0-2 at home), a four game losing streak, a quarterback conundrum – not a controversy – between veteran Jacoby Brissett and first-round draft pick Drake Maye (No. 3, overall). Brissett is being subjected to protection by the worst offensive line in recent memory. The Patriots shuffled between five different starting offensive line combinations in their first five games. In doing so, they’ve allowed the highest pressure rate on their QB of all NFL teams. Miami only sacked Brissett twice, but San Francisco’s defense leveled Brissett six times.

Would you subject a rookie quarterback to that scenario?

And, where do the longtime buttoned-up, disciplined and character-first Patriots stand on charges against Peppers? Innocent until proven guilty is the way of the land, of course, but a bag of cocaine in possession is a pretty cut and dry violation of NFL rules.

The answer to all is a realization of a franchise hitting bottom, of early speculation on the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and a Foxborough filled pack of season ticket holders who must experience the misery of losing – possibly for a very long time in the ultra-competitive AFC.

That all brings us to October 8, 2024 and Opening Night in the National Hockey League – the Boston Bruins in gusty Florida for their regular season opener against the pesky Panthers. The New Jersey Devils are undefeated (2-0) and the Buffalo Sabres are (0-2) after a pair of opening games in Prague. The rest of the league drops the puck tonight.

Meanwhile, the NBA shipped the Celtics to Abu Dhabi for a pair of preseason games in the friendly confines of Etihad Arena in Dubai. Nothing wrong with a (2-0) start against the Denver Nuggets and reigning MVP extraordinaire, Nikola Jokic, otherwise known as the greatest second round pick since the Spurs grabbed Manu Ginobili in Round Dos last century.

New England fans, lovers of blame and the pastime of pointing fingers have no other choice but to turn the pages of the calendar to the winter sports season. It’s ice hockey and hoops time in Boston.

See you in June.

 

A Royal Fourth

by

NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Kansas City’s catcher Salvador Perez hit a towering homer off New York’s Carlos Rodon to start a four-run fourth inning and the Royals beat the Yankees 4-2 on Monday night to even their American League Division Series at one game apiece.

Embed from Getty Images

Game 3 of the best-of-five set is scheduled for Wednesday night in Kansas City.

The only remaining player from Kansas City’s 2015 World Series team, Perez forged a 1-1 tie by hammering a 2-0 slider to the back of the left field seats.

It was Perez’s sixth career postseason homer and first since Game 5 of the 2015 AL Championship Series.

The veteran catcher’s 402-foot drive gives him 13 hits in 28 career at-bats off Rodon (0-1), whom he faced frequently when the Yankees left-hander pitched for the Chicago White Sox.

Following Perez’s homer, the Royals continued to pounce on Rodon’s slider, as Tommy Pham and Garrett Hampson had run-scoring singles.

Yuli Gurriel followed Perez’s drive with a single to left on a 2-2 slider and took second on a wild pitch. After Rodon got the first out of the fourth, Pham lined another slider to center to plate Gurriel for a 2-1 lead, then stole second.

With two outs, Pham easily scored when Hampson hit a slider to left for a 3-1 lead, chasing Rodon from the game in the process. Maikel Garcia added an RBI single off Ian Hamilton, but he got caught in a rundown for the final out of the frame.

Kansas City starter Cole Ragans struggled with command at times but held the Yankees to one run on three hits in four innings before the Royals used four relievers to finish the game. Ragans struck out five and walked four.

Angel Zerpa (2-0) got a double play to end the fifth, and John Schreiber got three flyouts in the sixth for Kansas City.

Kris Bubic pitched two innings, getting Juan Soto to fly out to the warning track to end the seventh and retiring Giancarlo Stanton on a double-play grounder to end the eighth. Lucas Erceg gave up Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s homer to start the ninth and a two-out single to Jon Berti before notching the save.

Rodon allowed four runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. He didn’t issue a walk and fanned seven.

The Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the third on Stanton’s RBI single.

New York finished 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

–Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media

Witt is It

by

KANSAS CITY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. homered twice and drove in four runs on Wednesday, leading the Kansas City Royals past the visiting Boston Red Sox 8-4 to salvage the finale of a three-game series.

Embed from Getty Images

Cole Ragans (9-7) allowed four runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks over 6 1/3 innings for Kansas City. The left-hander struck out seven and collected his fourth win over his last five starts.

Boston starter Kutter Crawford (7-9) tossed 3 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on five hits and four walks with three strikeouts. He allowed Witt’s first home run, a one-out solo shot in the first to open the scoring.

Crawford has surrendered 13 homers in his last four starts and leads the majors with 27 home runs allowed.

Witt and Vinnie Pasquantino, who are tied for third in the American League with 84 RBIs, both supplied two in the Royals’ five-run fourth inning.

MJ Melendez drew an 11-pitch walk to open the frame and scored on Crawford’s wild pitch with one out to pull Kansas City within 4-3.

Witt put the Royals ahead with a two-out, two-run double into the right field corner on an 0-2 pitch, which chased Crawford from the game.

Pasquantino promptly hit reliever Brennan Bernardino’s second pitch into the right field bullpen for a two-run homer and a 7-4 lead.

Witt closed the scoring in the sixth inning with his second solo shot of the night and 22nd of the season.

With the win, the Royals increased their lead to 1 1/2 games over Boston for the AL’s final wild-card spot.

Michael Massey’s RBI single put Kansas City up 2-0 in the second inning before his throwing error helped the Red Sox rally in the third.

Massey’s mistake put two runners on with none out, and Romy González eventually connected for a two-out, three-run homer, his fourth this season.

Boston boosted its lead to 4-2 on Danny Jansen’s homer to lead off the fourth.

Red Sox right-hander Chris Martin was activated from the injured list and struck out three in a scoreless eighth.

–Field Level Media

Sox Facing Royals in Key Series

by

KANSAS CITY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – As the visiting Boston Red Sox prepare for the middle game of a pivotal three-game series against the Kansas City Royals, they expect to soon receive a bullpen boost with the return of right-handers Chris Martin and Justin Slaten.

Embed from Getty Images

On the injured list since July 4, Martin may return during the series with the Royals.

“He’s on his way here,” Boston manager Alex Cora said on Monday. “He’s staying at home one more night. We’ll know more (Tuesday) night. If he’s ready, he’ll be activated Wednesday.”

Slaten, dealing with right elbow inflammation like Martin, has been sidelined since July 8.

“(He was) playing catch (Monday), up to 120 (feet),” Cora said, “so, that’s a good sign. When you get up to there, the bullpen is right around the corner.”

The Red Sox recently received surprising news about Trevor Story, who has missed all but eight games due to left shoulder dislocation and was thought to be lost for the year.

Instead, the shortstop has made significant progress and could return this season.

“I never thought we were going to get to this point,” Cora said. “I’m excited. Obviously, not a hundred percent that it’s going to happen, but the fact that he is doing everything possible to make it happen is great.”

Story is travelling with the club and swinging a bat.

“He’s hitting underhand tosses, front tosses this past weekend,” Cora said. “That’s close to BP. He’s moving well. His swing looks great.”

After winning the series opener 9-5 on Monday, Boston will send right-hander Brayan Bello (10-5, 5.13 ERA) to the mound on Tuesday as they look for their third straight series victory.

In two career starts against the Royals, Bello is 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA. He collected a win on July 14 vs. Kansas City despite surrendering homers to Salvador Perez and Adam Frazier. He threw 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits.

In three starts since, Bello has been consistent, throwing at least five innings while allowing three or fewer runs each time.

The Royals will counter with right-hander Seth Lugo (13-5, 2.57 ERA). He has made four career appearances — one start — against the Red Sox, going 0-2 with a 7.56 ERA. The lone start was a loss on July 13, when he allowed five runs on 10 hits, including a home run by Rafael Devers, in five innings.

Lugo beat the Detroit Tigers in his latest start, allowing a run on four hits in eight innings on Thursday.

“A lot of soft contact, a lot of pitch efficiency,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “It looked like he had everything working. He got soft contact on changeups, some swing-and-miss on the breaking ball, had the two-seamer going. All in all, he was in command the whole night.”

While Bobby Witt Jr. has earned most of the Royals’ offensive headlines, teammate Vinnie Pasquantino has also contributed as Kansas City has homered in 11 straight games, tied for the fourth-longest streak in club history.

In the Monday loss, Pasquantino extended his hitting streak to nine games with his 16th homer. He has five long balls in his past six games.

“Vinnie’s a run producer,” Quatraro said. “He’s had some good games for us, especially lately.”

In 35 games since June 24, Pasquantino is hitting .329 with nine homers and 34 RBIs. His 51 home-game RBIs lead the majors.

–Field Level Media

 

Sox: Cheers to Kutter Sharp

by

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s starter, Kutter Crawford, tossed seven-plus scoreless innings to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 5-0 victory over the visiting Kansas City Royals on Saturday.

Embed from Getty Images

Crawford (6-7) limited the Royals to two hits, struck out four and walked one. He exited after allowing a leadoff single to Maikel Garcia in the eighth.

The only other hit against him was a double by Garrett Hampson with one out in the third inning.

Crawford also pitched seven scoreless innings in his previous start to help the Red Sox defeat the New York Yankees 3-0 on July 10. He threw 68 pitches (54 strikes) in that game.

Rafael Devers hit his 22nd home run of the season on Saturday and Dominic Smith added two hits and two RBIs for the Red Sox, who began the day tied with the Royals for the final wild-card spot in the American League.

Devers’ home run was the 194th of his career and moved him past Jason Varitek and into the No. 11 spot for most home runs by a Red Sox player in franchise history. Devers, Jarren Duran and Reese McGuire also collected two hits for the Red Sox.

Kansas City starter Seth Lugo (11-4) began the day with the lowest ERA in the major leagues (2.21), but allowed five runs on 10 hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out six. His ERA rose to 2.48.

The loss ended Kansas City’s four-game winning streak.

Boston struck first when Smith singled and scored on McGuire’s double in the second.

The Red Sox extended their lead to 4-0 by scoring three runs with two outs in the third. Wilyer Abreu made it 2-0 when his double drove in Masataka Yoshida, and Smith followed with a two-run single that scored Devers and Abreu.

Devers’ home run put Boston up 5-0 in the fifth.

Kansas City was held to four hits, two of which came with two outs in the ninth.

KC’s Cole Ragans Shines vs Red Sox

by

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Kansas City’s Cole Ragans allowed one run in seven innings to help the visiting Kansas City Royals extend their winning streak to four games by beating the Boston Red Sox 6-1 Friday night.

Embed from Getty Images

Ragans (6-6) gave up four hits, struck out seven, walked one and looked great doing it.

Bobby Witt Jr. (No. 16 of the year) and MJ Melendez (No. 11) each hit solo home runs for the Royals, who scored a run in the first inning, three in the second, one in the fourth and one in the eighth.

Witt’s home run came against Boston starting pitcher Cooper Criswell (3-4). Witt will be among the contestants in Monday’s Home Run Derby during All-Star festivities. Criswell was called from Worcester for aq spot start Friday afternoon.

Melendez homered against Greg Weissert. Melendez has eight home runs in 14 career games against the Red Sox.

Witt, Melendez and Adam Frazier each had two hits and an RBI for Kansas City. Melendez and Frazier each scored twice, and veteran catcher Salvador Perez drove in two runs.

Ceddanne Rafaela collected two of Boston’s five hits. The Red Sox struck out 10 times.

Chris Stratton and Nick Anderson both tossed a scoreless inning of relief for the Royals. Stratton struck out three after Boston’s first two batters reached base in the eighth.

Criswell allowed five runs on eight hits in six innings, but only two of the runs he gave up were earned.

Kansas City took a 1-0 lead when Perez hit a sacrifice fly that drove in Frazier in the first. An RBI single by Frazier, a sacrifice fly from Vinnie Pasquantino and an RBI single by Perez increased the lead to 4-0 in the second.

Back-to-back doubles by Jamie Westbrook and Rafaela cut Boston’s deficit to 4-1 in the bottom of the second, but Witt’s 429-foot home run made it 5-1 in the fourth. Melendez capped the scoring when he homered in the eighth.

Rob Refsnyder and Rafael Devers had Boston’s other hits in the loss.

–Field Level Media

Boston Faces KC After Impressive Work vs A’s

by

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox look to go into the All-Star break on a high note as they begin a three-game home series against the Kansas City Royals on Friday.

Embed from Getty Images

A 7-0 win over Oakland on Thursday moved the Red Sox back to 10 games above the .500 mark, was their eighth win in their last 10 games, and secured their third straight series victory.

Connor Wong, Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida all socked home runs to highlight the team’s 10-hit attack — and 13th three-homer game of the season — while All-Star righty Tanner Houck threw six shutout, two-hit innings to post his eighth win.

Manager Alex Cora’s club will look to continue their winning ways for one more series before next week’s All-Star Game festivities in Arlington, Texas.

“I think what we need to do is to keep winning,” Cora said. “Obviously there’s a lot of conversation about a lot of stuff, but the main goal here is to keep winning and we’ve done a pretty good job the last month and a half accomplishing that, and we’re going to continue.”

Winning will be especially crucial this weekend against a Kansas City team that sits just a game back of the third and final wild-card spot in the American League postseason race. That spot is currently occupied by the Red Sox.

Yoshida has been on a 14-game tear to help Boston’s surge, hitting .346 with a .928 OPS and 12 RBIs in that span. He was 3-for-4 with four RBIs on Thursday.

“Great teammates, great supporting staff, everybody in the clubhouse working together for the win,” Yoshida said through an interpreter. “I’m really glad to be a part of that. … I knew from the beginning that we had something going on with this team.”

Boston has not announced a starting pitcher for Friday.

All-Star left-hander Cole Ragans (5-6, 3.28 ERA) is due to make the series-opening start for Kansas City, pitching for his first win since June 24 at Miami. He is one of three Royals arms who ranked in the top 15 in American League ERAs as of Wednesday.

The 26-year-old has matched his season high of seven innings pitched last Friday at Colorado, striking out eight and allowing just two runs on five hits in a no-decision.

Ragans will look to keep the Royals hot after they swept a Wednesday doubleheader in St. Louis, giving them a three-game win streak entering this weekend.

Eight players registered at least one RBI between the two games Wednesday. Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez and MJ Melendez drove in at least one in each game, with Perez homering in each contest. Especially key was the outfield, which combined for six runs scored and six RBIs in the sweep.

“It is outfield production, but there are nine guys in the lineup,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We don’t care what position they play, but right now, those guys are producing.”

When Ragans’ start in Boston is over, he will turn his attention to an All-Star Game in the stadium where he made his MLB debut for the Rangers in 2022.

“It’s cool that I have a lot of memories on that mound — my first Opening Day, my first big league start, my first big league win,” Ragans said of Globe Life Field. “It’s pretty cool. Of all places for my first (All-Star Game) to be, it just happens to be back (where) I stepped on a big league mound for the first time. It’s full circle.”

Prior to Wednesday’s sweep, Kansas City had been 5-14 in its last 19 road games.

Red Sox Acquire Sandlin from KC

by

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Kansas City Royals acquired right-handed reliever John Schreiber from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for minor league righty David Sandlin on Saturday.

Also, the Royals placed right-hander Kyle Wright on the 60-day injured list.

Schreiber, who turns 30 on March 5, posted a 2-1 record with one save and a 3.86 ERA in 46 games (two starts) last season with Boston. He struck out 53 batters in 46 2/3 innings.

Schreiber owns an 8-6 record with nine saves and a 3.58 ERA in 139 career games (two starts) with the Detroit Tigers (2019-20) and Red Sox (2021-23).

Sandlin, 22, went 4-2 with a 3.41 ERA in 15 games (all starts) split last season with the Class-A Columbia Fireflies and the High-A Quad Cities River Bandits. He had 90 strikeouts in 68 2/3 innings.

Wright, who was acquired from the Atlanta Braves for fellow right-hander Jackson Kowar on Nov. 17, is recovering from surgery to repair a torn capsule in his throwing shoulder. He is expected to miss the 2024 season.

Because of injuries in the 2023 season, Wright appeared in just nine games (seven starts), posting a 1-3 record with a 6.97 ERA in 31 innings.

Wright, 28, led the majors in 2022 in wins when he posted a 21-5 record in 30 starts in his first full season. He had a 3.19 ERA and struck out 174 batters in 180 1/3 innings.

In 60 career games (51 starts) since 2018, Wright is 24-16 with a 4.45 ERA in 281 1/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Top Royals; Sale Wins

by

KANSAS CITY – Boston’s Masataka Yoshida and Adam Duvall homered, and starting pitcher Chris Sale earned his first win since May, leading the Red Sox past the host Kansas City Royals, 7-3, on Sunday in the rubber game of the three-game series.

Embed from Getty Images

Yoshida’s two-out, three-run fly barely cleared the right-center field wall for his 14th home run and a 3-0 advantage in the fourth inning. The rookie had two of the Red Sox’s nine hits, his 46th multi-hit game.

Sale (6-3) allowed two singles and two walks, striking out five while permitting just one runner past first base to collect his first win since May 26 and 13th against the Royals, his most against any opponent.

Duvall’s 416-foot solo blast to left, his 19th homer, improved Boston’s lead to 4-0 in the sixth. Duvall has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games, batting .408 with eight home runs and 16 RBIs.

Salvador Perez got Kansas City on the scoreboard with an RBI single off reliever Mauricio Llovera in the sixth, cutting the deficit to 4-1. Perez had two of the Royals’ eight hits.

Red Sox right fielder Alex Verdugo was seen limping after fielding Perez’s hit and left the game one batter later. Per the Boston Globe, Verdugo is battling a tight left hamstring.

Bobby Witt Jr.’s seventh-inning throwing error led to a pair of Red Sox runs as Justin Turner delivered a sacrifice fly for a 6-1 lead. Rafael Devers’ two-out RBI double in the ninth capped Boston’s scoring.

Dairon Blanco’s two-run single in the ninth off Kenley Jansen capped the scoring.

After opener Taylor Clarke retired the Red Sox in order in the first, Zack Greinke (1-14) went 3 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk. Greinke has not won since May 3.

Boston (71-66), which has lost five of seven, earned its first series win since a three-game sweep at the New York Yankees Aug. 18-20.

The Royals are 6-21 since their season-long seven-game winning streak ended Aug. 4, falling to 42-96 and dropping 54 games below .500 for the first time in franchise history.

–Field Level Media