The Boston Red Sox will continue their homestand by welcoming in the Kansas City Royals. The Red Sox have hit a tough stretch, having dropped seven of their last eight, and are coming off being swept by the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend; the Blue Jays outscored the Red Sox 25-8. The Royals currently sit in last place in the American League Central and are coming off a series loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in which they lost two out of three; the Royals, however, despite the recent series loss, have won seven of their last nine and saw a seven-game win streak snapped on Saturday. This is the first series between these two teams this season, last year, the Red Sox went 3-4 against the Royals and were outscored 42-34.
Boston Red Sox (57-54) vs. Kansas City Royals (36-77)
Game 1:
Date: Monday, August 7
Time: 7:10 PM EST
Broadcast: NESN
Game 2:
Date: Tuesday, August 8
Time: 7:10 PM EST
Broadcast: NESN
Game 3:
Date: Wednesday, August 9
Time: 7:10 PM EST
Broadcast: NESN
Game 4:
Date: Thursday, August 10
Time: 7:10 PM EST
Broadcast: NESN
Projected Starting Pitchers:
Game 1: Brayan Bello (8-6, 3.79 ERA) vs. Cole Ragans (3-3, 4.33 ERA)
Brayan Bello will get the series started for the Red Sox, and he is making his 19th start of the season. In his last start, he picked up a win against the Seattle Mariners, going six innings, giving up four runs on eight hits; he walked two and struck out seven. He posts a 4.40 FIP, a 1.23 WHIP, a 2.5 BB/9, and a 7.9 K/9 this season. Bello has never faced the Royals in his career. Cole Ragans will oppose Bello, making his third start for the Royals since being traded from the Texas Rangers in exchange for Aroldis Chapman. This season between the two teams, he posts a 4.28 FIP, a 1.35 WHIP, a 5.2 BB/9, and an 8.9 K/9; since joining Kansas City, he posts a 2.08 FIP, a 1.27 WHIP, a 2.5 BB/9, and a 9.0 K/9. Ragans has never faced the Red Sox in his career.
Game 2: Kutter Crawford (5-5, 3.62 ERA) vs. Brady Singer (7-8, 5.10 ERA)
Crawford will get the second game of the series, making his 22nd appearance and 14th start. His last start came against the Mariners, and he pitched well going five innings; he didn’t allow a run on four hits; he walked one and struck out five. He posts a 3.96 FIP, a 1.08 WHIP, a 2.1 BB/9, and an 8.9 K/9 this season. Since June 2, when he became a permanent starter for the Red Sox, Crawford is 4-3 in 11 starts posting a 3.67 FIP, a 1.15 WHIP, a 2.28 BB/9, and an 8.94 K/9. In his career against the Royals, Crawford has made one start and posted a 9.00 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. Brady Singer will take the ball for the Royals, making his 23rd start of the season, and posts a 3.95 FIP, a 1.38 WHIP, a 2.8 BB/9, and a 7.7 K/9. In his career against the Red Sox, he has made one start picking up a win and posting a 0.00 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.
Game 3: James Paxton (6-3, 3.60 ERA) vs. Jordan Lyles (3-12, 6.24 ERA)
Paxton gets the ball in the third game and is making his 15th start of the season. Paxton struggled in his last outing, which came on Friday against the Blue Jays, in which he gave up four runs on nine hits; he gave up three home runs in that outing, going five innings; he walked two and struck out four. Paxton posts a 4.06 FIP, a 1.14 WHIP, a 2.6 BB/9, and a 10.1 K/9. Paxton has made seven starts in his career against the Royals and is 3-0 with a 1.70 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. Jordan Lyles will oppose Paxton and is making his 22nd start and posts a 5.34 FIP, a 1.29 WHIP, a 2.6 BB/9, and a 6.2 K/9. In his career against the Red Sox, Lyles has made nine starts going 2-2 with a 7.08 ERA and a 1.94 WHIP.
Game 4: TBD vs. TBD
Neither team has named a starter for the finale; this will likely be a bullpen game for the Red Sox unless they decide to bring Chris Sale back. If they go bullpen, this lines up to be the Nick Pivetta game; he struggled the last time he pitched when he faced the Blue Jays on Saturday, going four innings and giving up three runs on six hits; he walked two and struck out two.
Red Sox vs. Royals Batting Leaders
Series Prediction
The Red Sox will be getting Trevor Story back, most likely on Thursday, as he will wrap up his 20-game rehab assignment; it remains to be seen if he will play in that game, but he will be back with the team. This series will be anything but a cakewalk. Even with the Royals’ record not being so good, they have been playing great baseball. The Red Sox are still in the race for the final Wild Card spot, but after this past weekend, they’ve made it difficult for themselves, but this series could go a long way toward getting them back into the conversation. I think this is a series the Red Sox take three out of four against the Royals and get themselves back into the thick of things in the American League Wild Card chase.
One thought on “Boston Red Sox vs. Kansas City Royals Series Preview”