the Boston Red Sox won the opener of a crucial three-game series with the Kansas City Royals 9-5 on Monday night at Kauffman Stadium.
With the win, the Red Sox improved to 60-51, while the Royals fell to 63-51.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
After Jarren Duran recorded his 35th double of the season in the top of the sixth inning to give the Red Sox a 4-2 lead, Boston exploded for four more runs in the seventh inning to break the game wide open.
Masataka Yoshida got the inning going with a leadoff double off Angel Zerpa after the Royals reliever replaced Brady Singer in the sixth. After Rafael Devers singled to right, Connor Wong knocked in Yoshida with his 12th double of the season. Devers would score the Red Sox’s sixth run of the game on a Zerpa wild pitch. Wong crossed the plate when Romy Gonzalez launched his third home run of the season.
James Paxton had a solid night on the mound for Boston. He threw 68.9% of his pitches for strikes (62-of-90) striking out four. He surrendered two runs on five hits in six innings for his first win since rejoining the Red Sox after being acquired via a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 26.
