Series Recap: Red Sox at Royals
Pulling off the Royal Rush
As the month of May continues on for the Red Sox, the storyline continues to remain clear of elite pitching and rock solid defense, while not putting up much of a fight with their bats. It remained on full display at the beginning of their road trip, combining for just six runs in a three-game series loss to the Atlanta Braves. With how lethal the Braves offense has been and the pitching holding them to just five runs over the first two games, Boston had every chance to win that series, but ultimately fell short.
They then looked to switch their momentum around as they traveled to Missouri for a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals, and what a turnaround it was. Good teams always take care of business against weaker opponents, and that is exactly what happened with the Red Sox as they swept them, the second time they have done that all season, while also matching a season-high three game win streak. While the pitching and defense continued to do their thing, the bats started to catch up with them in the series, and was quite a focal point in how they were able to come up with this big wins.
Following the three-game set, Boston now finds themselves outside of the basement with a 22-27 record, good for being five games under .500, along with sitting in fourth place in the American League East and 11.5 games back of the first place Tampa Bay Rays. They also improved substantially in the American League, leapfrogging Kansas City, along with the Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles in the standings, and all of a sudden, the outlook on this season looks a whole lot different.
Game 1:
After moving the start time up 30 minutes from 7:40 to 7:10 PM EST, the series kicked off with the Red Sox sending out Sonny Gray, while the Royals countered with Seth Lugo on the mound. Additionally, with Boston looking to improve their offensive output, they sent out Nick Sogard in the lineup at third once again, while Caleb Durbin had the night off.
Both Gray and Lugo were dealing through the first five innings of the ballgame, combining for ten shutout innings of work allowing six hits and striking out 13 batters. Once the halfway point of the game crossed, it was the Red Sox who struck first blood in the sixth inning. With a leadoff single to begin the frame from Mickey Gasper, Willson Contreras got himself a middle-middle sinker that he did not miss, hitting a 110 mph rocket up into the fountain area for a two-run home run, quickly giving the team a 2-0 lead.
As we have learned throughout the season, two runs or less typically results in a loss, so Boston made sure to get the all-important third run in the seventh inning, as Connor Wong led off with a line drive double and got moved over to third with a little small ball from Sogard, as he dropped down a pull-side bunt to get on base and put runners on the corners. With a deep flyball from Jarren Duran, it would be enough to bring home Wong for a 3-0 lead, while also foreshadowing a big time performance from him over the course of the series.
After six strong innings of work from Gray, he started running out of gas in the seventh inning, allowing a leadoff walk in the bottom-of-the-seventh to Carter Jensen, and Jac Caglianone followed up with a line drive RBI double into the right field corner, allowing Jensen to score all the way from first base to make it 3-1, which ultimately was your final score, and it was enough for Chad Tracy to make his call to the bullpen.
In what was arguably his best start in a Red Sox uniform, Gray put together six innings and 80 pitches (54 strikes) of work, allowing just one run on five hits and a walk, while striking out a season-high nine batters en route to his fifth win of the year. Boston brought him in because of his elite ability to spin the baseball, and that is exactly what he did throughout the start, fooling the Kansas City hitters multiple times with 12 whiffs and a 42% chase rate. In particular, he utilized his cutter against lefties, along with both his sinker and fastball in pitchers counts to generate.
This start also marked the first time he got nine or more strikeouts in a game since June 27, 2025 with the St. Louis Cardinals, and since returning from the injured list, he has looked better and better with each start, pitching to a 1.06 ERA in 17 innings, and has been a steady force even with Garrett Crochet on the injured list.
Following Gray was the deadly bullpen trio of Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock, and Aroldis Chapman, allowing just one hit over the final three innings while striking out four to secure a W for Boston, and ultimately set the tempo for the rest of the series.
Game 2:
The middle-round of the series featured Ranger Suarez on the mound for the Red Sox, and with Cole Ragans unavailable, the Royals would send out Bailey Falter to make the start. Additionally, with a lefty pitcher, Tracy turned to his platoon options of Andruw Monasterio and Isiah Kiner-Falefa to start in the lineup, while bumping Ceddanne Rafaela up into the lineup to second and Sogard sixth.
Right away, Boston wasted no time getting out in front in the first inning, as Duran drew a leadoff walk, and after stealing his tenth stolen base to move into scoring position, back to back singles from Wilyer Abreu and Contreras allowed him to do just that as the team would take the quick 1-0 lead. However, the Royals were ready to answer back in the bottom-of-the-inning, as Bobby Witt Jr. hit a one-out opposite field single, stole second base, and came around to score on a sinking line drive RBI double from Lane Thomas to tie the game right back up, though it wound up being the only run they could produce all game long.
The Red Sox answered back with their own rebuttal in the second inning, with Carlos Narváez drawing a one-out walk, and Kiner-Falefa recording the first of three hits in the ballgame with a single back up the middle to put runners on first and second for Caleb Durbin. The night off seemed to have worked wonders, as he lined a ball back up the middle to score Narváez for a go-ahead RBI single, which wound up being the game winner as they led 2-1.
Meanwhile on the pitching side of things, Suarez was not his dominant self this time around, but still did a great job limiting the damage. Pitching four-and-a-third innings on 81 pitches (46 strikes), he allowed one run on four hits and three walks while striking out three in a no-decision.
Unfortunately, after 19.1 innings, Suarez lost his scoreless streak from the Thomas RBI double, and his occasional first inning woes reared their ugly head in this game, as he needed 32 pitches to get out of it. His next three innings of work were strong, but using a ton of his bullets early on in the first caught up to him by the fifth inning. Nonetheless, limiting the traffic just one run paid off, as the bullpen backed him up and continued to be dominant.
The combination of Zack Kelly, Tyler Samaniego, Slaten, Whitlock, and Jovani Morán shutout Kansas City through the final four-and-two-third innings of this game, allowing just two hits while striking out seven hitters, and the offense rewarded their efforts in the eighth inning. With Rafaela beginning the frame with a leadoff double, both Abreu and Contreras put the ball in play via a lineout and groundout respectively, which allowed him to advance one base each and come around to score to make it 3-1, but the best was yet to come.
It was still a tight ballgame come the ninth inning, but Boston made sure to put this one out of reach for good. Sogard and Narváez began the inning with back-to-back singles, though Sogard did wind up getting thrown out at home by Caglianone on a Gasper single, who came into the game pinch hitting for Durbin. But that ended up not mattering, as Duran stepped up to the plate, and on an up and in fastball, he turned all over it, sending the ball over the wall in right field for a three-run home run, and his fifth on the season made it 6-1 Red Sox.
Following that up came three straight singles off the bats of Rafaela, Abreu, and Contreras to bring home another, and following a good morning, good afternoon, goodnight inning from Morán, Boston secured themselves a 7-1 victory. This game also marks the first time they score more than four runs in a game since May 7, and on the back of 15 hits, including six of them via RISP. Additionally, the team also played some elite defense, with Duran making both a diving and leaping catch in this game, alongside a pickoff move from Samaniego to nab Thomas on the basepaths.
Game 3:
The team already secured their first series win since the Detroit series, and they looked to match it with a series sweep, as Connelly Early got the start on the bump against an old friend in Michael Wacha for the Royals. Unfortunately, for the first time all series, it was Kansas City who struck first, as their captain, Salvador Perez, turned on an up and in fastball, hitting a rocket at nearly 110 mph near the scoreboard for a solo home run, quickly making it 1-0 for them.
That would not last long however, as the Red Sox answered back in a hurry in the second inning. Beginning with Willson Contreras chugging along the bases for his first triple of the season, Rafaela followed by reaching base via a fielding error at second base from Nick Loftin, and Sogard proceeded to tie the game back up with a line drive RBI single to make it one run apiece. Following that up was a walk to Marcelo Mayer to load the bases, and the team plated another as Narváez hit into a double play, but the error proved to be costly as Rafaela scored to give Boston a 2-1 lead.
The game stood in that spot until the fifth inning, where the longball continues to be giving Early issues. After a leadoff walk to Starling Marte, Elias Díaz made it hurt, connecting on a first pitch sinker low and inside, hitting it just shy of the fountains in left-center field for a go-ahead two run home run, giving the Royals the lead right back at 3-2.
Early proceeded to settle in the rest of the way, and ultimately threw six-and-a-third innings and 93 pitches (63 strikes), allowing three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out five hitters as he picked up his fourth win on the year. While the home runs have been his biggest stain, a major area of improvement for him has been the ability to limit the free pass, as he pounded the strike zone at a 65.6% rate in his outing, while allowing just one walk or less in each of his last three starts. Additionally, the velocity was sitting at 94.1 mph on his fastball, but despite the slight drop, he made up for it with his use of the changeup and sinker in the start to help keep batters guessing and off balance. If he can limit the mistake pitches, it will only get even better for him moving forward.
Despite giving up the lead, Boston once again fought their way back in a big way. After Narváez began the seventh inning with a leadoff single, Duran came up to the plate after a Gasper strikeout, and once again made the big swing for the second straight day, as he barreled up an outside fastball and sent it 366 feet to the opposite field for a go-ahead two run home run. His second homer in 24 hours made it 4-3 Red Sox, which ultimately was the final score, as the bullpen trio of Greg Weissert, Morán, and Chapman closed out the next two-and-two-third innings to secure the second sweep of the season.
The team continued piling up hits, and despite collecting just two RISP hits, flexing some power made up for it in that ground.
MVP of the Series:
Gray tossed his best outing for Boston, Contreras collected six hits, including a triple and a home run, to go along with five RBIs, as some of the honorable mentions of the series. But one clear favorite stands among the rest, and that is none other than Jarren Duran, who did it all with the bat and the glove.
Overall, he went 4 for 10 in the series, with all of his hits being for extra bases including a double, triple, and two home runs, to go along with four walks, a stolen base, and six RBIs. On top of his offensive production, he was just as valuable in the field, making both a diving and leaping grab in the second game of the series, along with jumping into the netting in foul territory to make another great play in the finale as well.
With Trevor Story out for the foreseeable future, Duran stands as the leader of the team and in the clubhouse, and when he gets going especially as the leadoff hitter, everyone tends to follow suit right after. It is no secret that he has been making plenty of adjustments to try and reallign his timing at the plate, but it certainly appeared to be that way all series long, and the best version of him is upon us.
What’s Next:
What a series! The biggest takeaway from the three games is that this offense can find ways to win games. Sure, they may not have faced the greatest pitching ever, but it is the first time all season that they put together three straight games of nine or more hits, and were able to bring in runs playing both small and long ball. However, the question remains; can they keep it up?
They’ll look to answer that very question with another favorable matchup, as they return to Fenway where they’ll play a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins. They lost the series in their previous matchup in Minnesota, but being back at home, the fortunes are bound to reverse at some point sooner rather than later.
At the time of writing this, the probable pitching matchups include Payton Tolle and Connor Prielipp tonight at 7:10 PM EST, pitchers to be determined on both sides (likely Brayan Bello as a starter or opener) at 4:10 PM EST, and finally, Gray facing his former team against Bailey Ober at 1:35 PM EST. All of these games can be watched on NESN or listened to on WEEI.
We know how elite the starting pitching, bullpen, and defense are. All that is left is for the offense to put this thing together, and coming off of this series, some great days may be in this team’s future.