Royals 6, Red Sox 4
Royals 6, Red Sox 4: Billy Butler belted a three-run homer in the eighth inning as Kansas City handed visiting Boston its sixth loss in seven games.
Matt Albers replaced starter Daniel Bard (2-4) after the latter walked the first two batters in the eighth. Butler promptly turned on a fastball from Albers and deposited it over the wall in left field for his sixth homer of the season.
Chris Getz and Humberto Quintero had RBI singles and Jose Mijares (2-1) tossed two scoreless innings to pick up the win. Jonathan Broxton retired the side in order in the ninth to secure his sixth save for the Royals, who snapped a modest two-game losing skid and improved to 3-13 at Kauffman Stadium.
Dustin Pedroia drove in a pair of runs and Adrian Gonzalez had a pair of hits and threw out Jeff Francoeur at the plate in the seventh inning with the Red Sox nursing a 4-3 lead.
Hot-hitting Boston rookie Will Middlebrooks exited the game with tightness in his left hamstring after legging out a double. Middlebrooks belted a grand slam on Sunday and went deep twice and drove in five runs during Monday's 11-5 victory over the Royals.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Bard endured a tumultuous 28-pitch second inning in which he had two balks and a wild pitch. Bard settled down, but allowed five runs on six hits and walked four to take the loss. ... Nick Punto replaced Middlebrooks and went 0-for-2. ... Kansas City starter Danny Duffy yielded four runs on seven hits and walked five batters in 4 1/3 innings.