Boston Red Sox (20-27, fifth in the AL East) vs. Kansas City Royals (20-28, fifth in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Missouri; Tuesday, 7:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Red Sox: Ranger Suarez (2-2, 2.44 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 40 strikeouts); Royals: Bailey Falter (0-0, 10.13 ERA, 2.62 WHIP, four strikeouts)
LINE: Red Sox -126, Royals +106; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Red Sox take a 1-0 lead into the next game of the series against the Kansas City Royals.
Kansas City is 20-28 overall and 13-11 at home. The Royals have a 10-6 record in games when they did not allow a home run.
Boston is 20-27 overall and 12-13 on the road. The Red Sox have the fifth-ranked team ERA in the AL at 3.75.
The teams meet Tuesday for the second time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Salvador Perez ranks fourth on the Royals with 12 extra base hits (five doubles and seven home runs). Bobby Witt Jr. is 12 for 38 with two doubles, three home runs and six RBIs over the past 10 games.
Willson Contreras has six doubles, 10 home runs and 27 RBIs while hitting .253 for the Red Sox. Andruw Monasterio is 10 for 34 with four doubles over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 3-7, .228 batting average, 3.92 ERA, outscored by seven runs
Red Sox: 4-6, .227 batting average, 2.83 ERA, outscored by 11 runs
INJURIES: Royals: Kris Bubic: 15-Day IL (elbow), Matt Strahm: 15-Day IL (knee), Cole Ragans: 15-Day IL (elbow), Carlos Estevez: 15-Day IL (foot), Jonathan India: 10-Day IL (shoulder), James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow), Alec Marsh: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
Red Sox: Trevor Story: 10-Day IL (groin), Carlos Narvaez: day-to-day (finger), Danny Coulombe: 15-Day IL (cervical spasms), Kutter Crawford: 15-Day IL (wrist), Garrett Crochet: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Roman Anthony: 10-Day IL (wrist), Patrick Sandoval: 60-Day IL (elbow), Triston Casas: 60-Day IL (knee), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow), Romy Gonzalez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Tanner Houck: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
