Boston Red Sox (54-54, fifth in AL East) vs Kansas City Royals (42-65, fourth in AL Central)
Kansas City, Missouri; Saturday, 7:10 p.m. EDT
Pitching Prospects: Red Sox: Nathan Iovaldi (5-3, 4.11 ERA, 1.23 whips, 86 strikeouts); Royals: Daniel Lynch (4-7, 4.70 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 80 strikeouts)
fanduel sportsbook Line: Red Sox -138, Royals +117; over/under 9 runs
Bottom line: The Boston Red Sox take on the Kansas City Royals after Xander Bogarts hit four against the Royals on Friday.
Kansas City has a 23–31 record in home games and a 42–65 overall record. The Royals hitters are batting a collective .245, which ranks seventh in the AL.
Boston has a record of 28–27 on the road and a record of 54–54 overall. The Red Sox have finished ninth in the AL with a total of 103 home runs.
Saturday’s game is the third time these teams have matched this season.
Top Performer: Salvador Perez is third among the Royals with 31 extra base hits (14 doubles, one triple and 16 home runs). MJ Melendez is 9-for-36 in the last 10 games with three doubles, one home run and three RBIs.
Rafael Devers has 30 doubles, one triple and 23 home runs for the Red Sox. Alex Verdugo is 12 for 36 with four doubles in the last 10 matches.
Last 10 games: Royals: 3-7, .220 batting average, 4.66 ERA, 23 runs outscore
Red Sox: 5-5, .233 batting average, 4.19 ERA, outscore by six runs
Injuries: Royals: Edward Olivares: 60-Day IL (quadricep), Angel Zerpa: 60-Day IL (Knee), Jake Brentz: 60-Day IL (Flexor), Adalberto Mondesi: 60-Day IL (Knee), Tyler Zuber : 60-day IL (shoulder)
Red Sox: Brian Bello: 15-Day IL (Waist), Eric Hosmer: Day-Day (Neck), Rob Refsneider: 10-Day IL (Knee), Kaike Hernandez: 60-Day IL (Hip), Chris Sells: 15 -day IL (finger), Trevor Story: 10-day IL (hand), Matt Strahm: 15-day IL (wrist), Michael Wacha: 15-day IL (shoulder), Tyler Danish: 15-day IL (elbow) , Josh Taylor: 60-day IL (back), James Paxton: 60-day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press produced this story using technology provided by DataScrew and data from Sportradar,
