Kansas City @ Boston preview
Fenway Park
Last Meeting ( Jul 25, 2011 ) Kansas City 3, Boston 1
THE STORY: Pitching is supposed to be the Achilles heel for Kansas City, but the Royals held the powerhouse lineup of the Boston Red Sox to just one run over 14 innings on Monday. Kansas City snapped Boston's nine-game winning streak at Fenway Park with the 3-1 victory. The Royals will look to make it two in a row when they continue their four-game series at Boston on Tuesday night. The Red Sox still have a couple of impressive streaks alive as Dustin Pedroia is riding a 22-game hitting streak and reliever Daniel Bard has not allowed a run in 24 straight appearances. Boston sends Andrew Miller to the mound against Danny Duffy in a battle of lefthanders.
TV: 7:10 p.m. FSKC, NESN
PITCHING MATCHUP: Royals LH Danny Duffy (2-4, 4.58 ERA) vs. Red Sox LH Andrew Miller (4-1, 4.65 ERA)
Duffy, a 6-3 rookie lefthander, will be making his Fenway Park debut. Duffy has made 11 starts in the majors and has begun to show signs of being an effective strikeout pitcher. The lefty has fanned 29 batters in his last 28 innings. Duffy won his last outing - a 4-2 decision over the Chicago White Sox - when he allowed two runs and five hits over seven innings.
Miller continues to pile up the wins and the walks. Boston has scored 48 runs in Miller’s six starts and he’s needed most of them to notch his four victories. He’s walked 15 batters in his last 13 innings, but recorded a 4-0 triumph over the Baltimore Orioles in his last outing. In that game, Miller walked six in 5 2/3 innings but allowed just two hits. Miller is 0-2 against the Royals in his career, but both starts came while he was with the Florida Marlins.
ABOUT THE RED SOX (62-38): Pedroia extended his hitting streak to 22 games with a single in the third inning on Monday. He has reached base in 34 straight games. Kevin Youkilis injured his right hamstring stretching for the bag while trying to beat out a throw to first base on Monday. He is questionable for Tuesday’s contest. Boston had its four-game winning streak snapped in Monday’s 14-inning marathon and lead New York by two games in the AL East. Starter Clay Buchholz finally began throwing and reported no pain after tossing 30 pitches. Buchholz has been on the disabled list for over a month with a bad back.
ABOUT THE ROYALS (43-59): Although the numbers in this series don’t match up well for Kansas City, the Royals pulled out a win in the series opener. Boston is 23-9 in its last 32 games at Fenway and it has won 17 of its last 21 overall. The Royals, who have the second worst team ERA in the majors, pitched 12 straight scoreless innings against Boston, which leads the majors in runs scored and batting average. Melky Cabrera had his second four-hit game of the season and rookie Eric Hosmer had three hits. Alcides Escobar returned to play third base after getting his first day of the rest on the season on Sunday.
FINAL PITCH: The Red Sox will put struggling right fielder J.D. Drew (shoulder) on the disabled list before Tuesday’s game. On Monday, they recalled infielder Drew Sutton and sent rookie pitcher Kyle Weiland to Triple-A Pawtucket.