Kansas City @ Boston preview

Last Meeting ( May 30, 2010 ) Kansas City 1, Boston 8

THE STORY: Jon Lester makes his return to the starting rotation after a stint on the disabled list as the Boston Red Sox begin a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park on Monday night. Even with their rotation in disarray, the Red Sox continue to reel off victories and they are hoping a healthy Lester can anchor the top of their rotation down the stretch. Kansas City, which starts Kyle Davies, is tied with Baltimore for the worst road record in baseball.

TV: 7:10 p.m. FSKC, NESN

PITCHING MATCHUP: Royals RH Kyle Davies (1-9, 7.32 ERA) vs. Red Sox LH Jon Lester (10-4, 3.31 ERA)

In a season to forget, Davies is in the worst stretch of his career. The veteran of eight major league seasons has lost eight straight starts and his ERA hasn’t been under six all season. Davies did strike out nine in his last outing and is 2-0 in his career against the Red Sox, but this will certainly be a tall challenge for him at Fenway Park. Lester, who seemed to be hitting his stride before he was injured, is making his first start since pitching four hitless innings against Toronto on July 6. He left that game with a strained left lat muscle, and Boston was careful with his rehab program. Lester has been dominant against K.C. in his career. He is 4-1 with a 1.22 ERA in five starts, punctuated by a no-hitter in May 2008.

ABOUT THE RED SOX (62-37): Boston has won six straight series and leads the AL East by three over the New York Yankees. Boston has won five consecutive games, nine straight at Fenway, and 17 of 20 games overall. Dustin Pedroia is riding a 21-game hitting streak to pace an offense that is rolling. Boston raced out to an 11-1 lead and pounded out 17 hits in a 12-8 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Boston is hitting .279; on Sunday, Carl Crawford and Jarrod Saltalamacchia combined for six hits and six RBIs and they bat near the bottom of the order.

ABOUT THE ROYALS (42-59): Kansas City was blanked by Alex Cobb and the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. K.C. managed seven hits in the 5-0 setback. It was the fifth time this season the Royals had been shut out. The Royals entered winners of four straight, including two in dramatic fashion. K.C. has made a habit out of late-game excitement, with 11 walk-off victories. This will be the first time that Boston has seen rookie phenom Eric Hosmer, who is batting .277 with nine homers and 40 RBIs in 67 games. Hosmer is also a potential future gold glover at first base.

FINAL PITCH: Lester doesn’t figure to go more than seven innings Monday, but neither Daniel Bard not Jonathan Papelbon pitched Sunday. Bard has 23 straight scoreless appearances.