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Red Sox look to stay hot against Royals in KC
By: Staff Writer - StatFox
Published: 5/17/2016  at  11:13:00 AM
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By Brad Kallet

BOSTON RED SOX (24-14)

at KANSAS CITY ROYALS (18-19)

First pitch: Tuesday, 8:15 p.m. ET
Line: Boston -127, Kansas City +117, Line: 7.0

After a postponement on Monday, Rick Porcello and the Red Sox kick off a three-game set with Yordano Ventura and the Royals in Kansas City.

The Red Sox (24-14) and the Royals (18-19) will open their series on Tuesday after the opener on Monday was postponed, and then they’ll play a day-night doubleheader on Wednesday. Boston, tied with the Orioles for first place in the American League East, took three out of four from the last-place Astros this past week and have won seven of eight overall. The Royals took two of three from the lowly Braves this past weekend. Prior to that set, Kansas City had lost four out of five. On the mound for the Red Sox in the series opener will be RHP Rick Porcello (6-1, 3.11 ERA, 46 SO, 10 BB, 6 HR in 46 1/3 IP), who hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in a start since his first outing of the season. He’ll be opposed by RHP Yordano Ventura (3-2, 4.62 ERA, 26 SO, 28 BB, 4 HR, 37 IP), who has had lots of trouble finding the strike zone. This will be the first meeting of the season between these two clubs, though Boston has gone 10-4 against the Royals (including a 5-2 mark at Kauffman Stadium) since the start of 2014. Nine of 13 games between these teams have gone OVER THE TOTAL in that period (including six of seven in Kansas City). The Red Sox have gone 10-6 away from Fenway Park in 2016, and the Royals have posted an 11-6 home record.

Kansas City has struggled to score this season (131 runs – last in AL), and they don’t have much power (33 HR – tied for last in AL). Ned Yost’s best hitter this season, far and away, has been 1B Eric Hosmer (.336, 6 HR, 17 RBI, .392 OBP). CF Lorenzo Cain (.274, 5 HR, 18 RBI, .338 OBP) has gotten hot of late, but Alex Gordon (.222, 4 HR, 10 RBI, .331 OBP) and DH Kendrys Morales (.201, 5 HR, 16 RBI, .257 OBP) haven’t been themselves at the plate. Kansas City has seen a ton of Porcello, who pitched in Detroit from 2009-14. Gordon is 11-for-41 against him with two home runs and seven RBIs, and Hosmer is 9-for-26 with a pair of homers. 2B Omar Infante (.236, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .268 OBP) is 6-for-12 against the 27-year-old and Cain is 5-for-13, though SS Alcides Escobar (.264, 0 HR, 11 RBI, .298 OBP) has really struggled against the New Jersey native, going 6-for-34, as has Morales (5-for-25 with 1 HR, 1 2B and 6 SO). In three career starts against the Red Sox, Ventura has gone 1-2 with a 5.19 ERA.

Unlike the Royals, the Red Sox can really hit. They lead the American League in runs with 229 (the next closest team, the Rangers, have 180), average (.298) and on-base percentage (.359). An incredible five starters—SS Xander Bogaerts (.338, 4 HR, 22 RBI, .390 OBP), CF Jackie Bradley Jr. (.331, 6 HR, 30 RBI, .374 OBP), DH David Ortiz (.320, 10 HR, 33 RBI, .405 OBP), 1B Hanley Ramirez (.319, 4 HR, 23 RBI, .367 OBP) and 3B Travis Shaw (.317, 5 HR, 26 RBI, .391 OBP)—are hitting over .300, and 2B Dustin Pedroia (.299, 6 HR, 20 RBI, .349 OBP) is right behind them. No one on John Farrell’s roster has more than seven career at-bats against Ventura. Bogaerts and Bradley Jr. each have a pair of hits off him in seven at-bats, and Ortiz is 2-for-5. RF Mookie Betts (.262, 6 HR, 27 RBI, .306 OBP) is 2-for-6 against the 24-year-old righty with a double and an RBI. In 20 career starts against the Royals, Porcello is 8-6 with a 4.58 ERA.


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