Keys to the series, game times as Kansas City Royals play the Boston Red Sox
The Kansas City Royals conclude their road trip with four games against the Boston Red Sox in Massachusetts.
The Royals (33-43) and Red Sox butted heads in Kansas City during the Royals’ last home stand at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won two of three games in that series.
The Royals come into the series having lost five games in a row and having been swept by the Texas Rangers over the weekend in Texas.
The Red Sox (47-31) have won three in a row and have the second-best record in the American League.
Series rundown
SCHEDULE: Monday, 6:10 p.m. CT; Tuesday, 6:10 p.m. CT; Wednesday, 6:10 p.m. CT; Thursday, 12:10 p.m. CT
PLACE: Fenway Park
PITCHING PROBABLES: Monday: KC LHP Danny Duffy (4-3, 1.81) vs. BOS RHP Garrett Richards (4-5, 4.74); Tuesday: KC RHP Brad Keller (6-8, 6.39) vs. BOS RHP Nick Pivetta (6-3, 4.00); Wednesday: KC LHP Mike Minor (6-5, 5.12) vs. BOS LHP Martín Pérez (5-4, 4.09); Thursday: TBA vs. BOS RHP Nathan Eovaldi (8-4, 3.67).
TV: All four games will be broadcast by Bally Sports Kansas City.
RADIO: All four games will air on KCSP Radio (610 AM).
NOTABLE: The Royals had three errors in Sunday’s series finale and five in the three-game series with the Rangers. They’d made six errors in their previous 19 games. … The Red Sox lead the majors with 25 come-from-behind wins this season.
Keys to the series
The Royals offense has struggled to convert scoring opportunities. One big inning could be the difference in a game and potentially jump-start the offense.
They’re batting .169 (27-for-160) with runners in scoring position since June 5. In Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Rangers, they left seven men on base.
The absence of Andrew Benintendi and Adalberto Mondesi has been glaring, and the struggles of Hunter Dozier and Jorge Soler have been magnified. Dozier enters the series with a slash line of .155/.226/.324 while Soler’s is .179/.282/.319. They’ve combined for 13 home runs and 50 RBIs. Salvador Perez alone has 18 home runs and 47 RBIs.
Monday’s Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Richards has given up 17 earned runs (20 total runs) and a .347 opponent’s batting average in his last five starts (22 innings). He allowed four home runs, 13 walks and 17 strikeouts during that stretch.
The Red Sox offense has been driven by their Nos. 3, 4, and 5 hitters, J.D. Martinez (15 HRs, 47 RBIs, .300/.361/.541), Xander Bogaerts (13 HRs, 46 RBIs, .330/.391/.557) and Rafael Devers (19 HRs, 64 RBIs, .283/.349/.577). That trio combined for six hits, five RBIs and five runs scored on Sunday.
This story was originally published June 28, 2021 at 12:04 PM.
