Red Sox at Royals
The Boston Red Sox find themselves in first place in the American League East on the strength of their 19-10 mark over the last 29 contests in addition to a season-worst seven-game swoon by their bitter rival in the Bronx. The visiting Red Sox aim to bolster their slim lead in the standings with a series victory against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday afternoon when the teams play the finale at Kauffman Stadium.
Xander Bogaerts had a two-run single in Tuesday's 8-3 romp to run his hitting streak to a staggering 18 straight games versus the Royals. The 24-year-old is 7-for-14 with two homers and six RBIs in his last three contests overall and 3-for-6 in a small sample size versus Wednesday starter Ian Kennedy. Kansas City had won eight of nine before being silenced by Chris Sale, although Mike Moustakas belted a solo homer off the Boston ace to continue a blistering month of June (24-for-69, six homers, 20 RBIs, 12 runs scored). Jorge Bonifacio added a two-run shot to give him a run scored in three straight contests to go along with eight hits and as many RBIs in his last eight games for the Royals.
TV: 2:15 p.m. ET, MLB Network, NESN (Boston), FSN Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox LH Drew Pomeranz (6-4, 4.19 ERA) vs. Royals RH Ian Kennedy (1-6, 5.03)
Pomeranz rebounded from a brutal outing by recording a strong one, allowing one run on four hits in 6 1/3 innings of a no-decision at Houston on Friday. The 28-year-old's lone blemish in that contest was Brian McCann's solo homer - the fourth time the Ole Miss product has been taken deep in his last five trips to the mound. Pomeranz has limited experience in his career versus the current crop of Kansas City batters, who are a collective 1-for-7 against him with five strikeouts.
Kennedy was working on a perfect game against the Los Angeles Angels before Cliff Pennington's solo homer in the sixth inning put an end to that. The 32-year-old allowed just one more hit to pick up his first win, but his penchant for being taken deep has been an issue this season. Kennedy has surrendered a homer in each of his last nine outings, with 11 total coming in that stretch.
WALK-OFFS
1. Boston CF Jackie Bradley Jr. is 4-for-8 with a homer and two RBIs and two runs scored in the series and 17-for-45 in his last 12 games.
2. Kansas City 1B Eric Hosmer is 2-for-15 with six strikeouts in his last five contests.
3. Red Sox DH Hanley Ramirez, who has been plagued with a neck issue, is 3-for-19 with five strikeouts in his last five games.