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The Boston Red Sox hold a one-game lead in the American League East over the New York Yankees. As they travel to Kauffman Stadium, it’s hard to imagine them not holding their ground over the next three games as they face the lowly Kansas City Royals.
Game times and pitching matchups are as follows:
- Friday, July 6 — 7:15 PM CDT — Chris Sale (L) versus Jason Hammel
- Saturday, July 7 — 6:15 PM CDT — David Price (L) versus Brad Keller
- Sunday, July 8 — 1:15 PM CDT — Rick Porcello versus Jakob Junis
All stats courtesy of FanGraphs and Baseball Reference
Red Sox at Royals pitching matchups
| Pitcher | G | IP | K | K% | BB | BB% | ERA | FIP | xFIP | SIERA | fWAR | rWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | G | IP | K | K% | BB | BB% | ERA | FIP | xFIP | SIERA | fWAR | rWAR |
| Game 1 | ||||||||||||
| Chris Sale (L) | 18 | 116.0 | 164 | 36.1 | 29 | 6.4 | 2.41 | 2.38 | 2.56 | 2.49 | 4.0 | 4.8 |
| Jason Hammel | 17 | 100.1 | 66 | 14.5 | 30 | 6.6 | 5.56 | 4.20 | 5.03 | 4.94 | 1.0 | -0.9 |
| Game 2 | ||||||||||||
| David Price (L) | 17 | 96.2 | 92 | 22.9 | 33 | 8.2 | 4.28 | 4.31 | 4.22 | 4.08 | 1.1 | 1.5 |
| Brad Keller | 27 | 56.0 | 33 | 14.7 | 18 | 8.0 | 2.09 | 3.18 | 4.15 | 4.26 | 1.1 | 2.3 |
| Game 3 | ||||||||||||
| Rick Porcello | 18 | 111.0 | 104 | 22.2 | 26 | 5.6 | 3.57 | 3.61 | 3.83 | 3.74 | 1.9 | 2.7 |
| Jakob Junis | 17 | 101.2 | 92 | 20.9 | 28 | 6.4 | 5.13 | 5.46 | 4.52 | 4.13 | -0.3 | 0.2 |
If you squint hard and forget the fact that Brad Keller doesn’t get to face the Royals offense, maybe the Royals could take a game there. Before factoring in the gaping chasm separating the two offenses, the Red Sox still have an inarguable advantage in two of the three matchups. Chris Sale was June’s American League Pitcher of the Month. Nothing has changed there. David Price is far from spectacular, but he still gets to face the Royals. Rick Porcello has been solid again this year.
Boston Red Sox position players
| Name | Pos | PA | HR | R | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | fWAR | rWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Pos | PA | HR | R | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | fWAR | rWAR |
| Mookie Betts | RF | 308 | 21 | 66 | 42 | 15 | .338 | .432 | .669 | .457 | 194 | 5.2 | 5.2 |
| J.D. Martinez | DH | 357 | 26 | 60 | 71 | 2 | .327 | .392 | .642 | .431 | 176 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
| Andrew Benintendi (L) | LF | 373 | 13 | 58 | 53 | 16 | .279 | .362 | .492 | .364 | 130 | 2.8 | 2.1 |
| Xander Bogaerts | SS | 302 | 13 | 37 | 47 | 2 | .276 | .341 | .504 | .359 | 126 | 2.4 | 1.4 |
| Mitch Moreland (L) | 1B | 254 | 11 | 38 | 40 | 1 | .288 | .354 | .533 | .377 | 139 | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Brock Holt (L) | Util | 175 | 1 | 18 | 19 | 3 | .294 | .371 | .405 | .339 | 113 | 0.9 | 0.6 |
| Rafael Devers (L) | 3B | 349 | 14 | 41 | 47 | 5 | .245 | .289 | .436 | .306 | 90 | 0.9 | -0.1 |
| Jackie Bradley Jr. (L) | CF | 284 | 6 | 34 | 25 | 9 | .202 | .296 | .332 | .278 | 70 | 0.7 | 0.5 |
| Sandy Leon (S) | C | 127 | 4 | 16 | 16 | 1 | .248 | .294 | .402 | .301 | 86 | 0.5 | 0.7 |
| Steve Pearce | !B/DH | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .308 | .308 | .462 | .327 | 104 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Eduardo Núñez | 2B | 292 | 6 | 34 | 22 | 4 | .257 | .289 | .373 | .287 | 77 | -0.3 | -1.0 |
| Blake Swihart (S) | C/LF | 86 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 2 | .165 | .233 | .190 | .197 | 14 | -0.6 | -0.7 |
| Christian Vázquez | C | 214 | 3 | 18 | 12 | 1 | .212 | .249 | .300 | .242 | 45 | -0.6 | -0.6 |
As a club, the Red Sox are slashing .266/.331/.456 with a .337 wOBA and a 112 wRC+. That 112 wRC+ trails just the Yankees and Astros. For perspective, the only active Royal who can match that wRC+ on the season is Whit Merrifield (also 112). It feels like this series might not go so well.
Poll
How will the Royals fare against the Red Sox?
This poll is closed
-
12%
Royals sweep (ha)
(25 votes) -
3%
Royals take two of three
(7 votes) -
25%
Red Sox take two of three
(53 votes) -
58%
Red Sox sweep
(122 votes)