Royals 4, Red Sox 3
Billy Butler belted a three-run homer and Luke Hochevar tossed seven solid innings as the Kansas City Royals salvaged a split of their four-game series against the Boston Red Sox with a 4-3 triumph Thursday at Fenway Park.
With Kansas City clinging to a 4-2 lead, Dustin Pedroia launched a solo homer in the eighth inning to extend his American League-best hitting streak to 25 games.
In the fourth inning, Butler deposited an offering from Josh Beckett (9-4) over the center-field fence for his third homer in as many days and 10th this season.
Rookie Mike Moustakas added an RBI single to cap the four-run uprising for Kansas City, which has won six of its last nine games.
Hochevar (7-8) matched his career high in victories after allowing two runs on six hits. Greg Holland bridged the gap to Joakim Soria, who retired the side in the ninth inning for his 19th save of the season.
Jacoby Ellsbury had a two-run single and Beckett fell to 6-1 in his career against the Royals after permitting four runs on six hits in seven innings.