Two teams making some recent noise meet when the Boston Red Sox hit the road as they prepare to tangle against the gritty Kansas City Royals in the first of a three-game set inside Kauffman Stadium Monday night from Kansas City, Missouri. They toss out the first pitch at 8:10[pm. Both teams are making headway in their respective divisions.
Bookmaker has installed the Royals - 147 on the ML.
The Red Sox have started to make a little move in the AL East. They are now just 6 1/2 games behind the front-running Tampa Bay Rays in the division. Boston has started to put together a nice couple of months of better baseball, including winning back-to-back series.
They do not have a big-time offense like the Baltimore Orioles or the New York Yankees, but they have hitters who will work the count in their favor and have shown patience at the plate when they need to. They are hitting .262 as a team, which is a very solid average when you compare it to other teams. They are led on offense by third baseman Rafael Devers, who has cracked 25 home runs this season.
Boston will hand the ball over to veteran starting pitcher James Paxton. He has a mark of 0-1 with the Red Sox after being traded away from the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he earned an 8-2 record this season. He has pitched well and has an ERA of 6.23 with the Red Sox. He was brought in to be that veteran arm for a playoff push.
The Royals suddenly dug themselves out of a bad hole, and now they are just five games back of the first-place Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central Division. They are showing that veteran muscle that served them so well many years ago, and they are also a team that is starting to believe they can not only make a push but also win the division.
They are led on offense by shortstop Bobby Witt Jr, who has hit 20 home runs this season while driving in 79 runs. He is on pace to break those numbers and has shown he is a true leader on this team. He has also shown he can be a nice building block for years to come.
They will toss out Brady Singer, who is 8-6 on the season. This will be a fun series between two teams making a second-half push toward the postseason.
The Royals are 4-1 in their last five games and 3-2 in their previous five games against the number. They are also 29-25 in their road games against the number. The totals have gone over in three out of their last five games, and the totals have gone over in 27 out of their last 58 games at home. The Red Sox are 3-2 in their previous five games and 3-2 in their last five games against the number too. They are also 29-25 in their road games against the number. The totals have gone over in four out of their last five games, and the totals have gone over in 25 out of their last 55 games at home.
