Red Sox, Royals Look for Leg Up in Wild-Card Race

The Boston Red Sox have won their past three series, and they’ll have to beat the visiting Kansas City Royals on Sunday to extend that streak to four. After dropping the opener of a three-game series against the Royals 6-1 Friday night, Boston bounced back to earn a 5-0 victory on Saturday. It was Boston’s 11th shutout of the season, tying them with the Atlanta Braves for the most shutout victories in Major League Baseball.

Recent Performance and Team Context

The Red Sox were held to five hits in Friday’s loss but collected 12 hits on Saturday. Boston scored five runs on 10 hits against American League All-Star Seth Lugo, who entered Saturday’s game with the lowest ERA in the major leagues (2.21) but failed to make it out of the sixth inning. Rafael Devers hit a solo home run Saturday. Devers, Reese McGuire, Dominic Smith, and Jarren Duran each had two hits in the victory. “We put some good at-bats against (Lugo),” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “We were relentless today. Not swinging and missing, putting the ball in play. … It was an overall, good offensive performance.”

Importance of the Game

The Red Sox and Royals entered Saturday’s matchup tied for the American League’s third wild-card spot, with the Red Sox taking a one-game lead with a game to go until the All-Star break. Boston’s Kutter Crawford tossed seven shutout innings and limited the Royals to two hits. Kansas City had four hits in the loss. Crawford threw 96 pitches, 76 for strikes. “It’s one of the higher strike percentages I’ve seen in a long time,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. “I don’t know how it finished, but he was up in the mid-to-high 80s for most of the game, so he kept us on our heels. The cutter was outstanding. He’s deceptive, we know that, with his arm action. He didn’t even really use the curveball that much or the split as much as I would have thought. Just kept us off the barrel with the cutter for the most part.”

Pitching Matchup: Singer vs. Bello

Right-hander Brady Singer (5-5, 2.93 ERA) is scheduled to start on the mound for Kansas City on Sunday. Singer picked up his first road win of the season last Sunday when he allowed one run on six hits and struck out seven in seven innings of a 10-1 victory over Colorado. Singer is 2-0 with a 2.13 ERA in two career starts against the Red Sox. He gave up three runs on 10 hits in 12 2/3 innings during those two starts. Boston will send right-hander Brayan Bello (9-5, 5.40 ERA) to the mound. Bello had his ups and downs during Boston’s 12-9 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday. He set a franchise record by recording the first 10 outs via strikeout but still failed to make it out of the sixth inning. He surrendered five runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. Bello has one career appearance against the Royals. He gave up a run on six hits in 6 2/3 innings in a 6-2 win last August.

Royals’ Recent Performance

The Royals have won four of their past five games, showing a strong performance as they fight to improve their standings.

Conclusion

The Red Sox aim to secure a series win against the Royals and improve their standing in the wild-card race. With Brady Singer starting for Kansas City and Brayan Bello pitching for Boston, fans can expect an exciting and competitive matchup. Both teams are making strategic changes to their lineups and pitching rotations, adding to the intrigue of this crucial game.