Editor's note: The temperature gauge is a Bill James-created statistic that measures how hot or cold hitters are. We will spotlight Red Sox and opposing team temperatures on game days.
The Red Sox haven't had any trouble getting runs off the Royals — it's just keeping Kansas City off the board, too, that's a concern in this four-game set.
Pedro Ciriaco is the hottest hitter for the Red Sox right now, with two hits in the last two games against the Royals. He's on a five-game hitting streak overall and is drilling at a .351 rate this season.
Dustin Pedroia has also been hot lately, also with a five-game hitting streak. He's had just one hit against the Royals in each of the last two games but is due to reel off a few more soon, as he has a .379 career average against Kansas City.
Here are the Red Sox and Royals temperatures for Aug. 26:
Red Sox
Pedro Ciriaco 86
Dustin Pedroia 85
Jacoby Ellsbury 79
Mike Aviles 79
Mauro Gomez 78
Scott Podsednik 78
Cody Ross 77
David Ortiz 72
Che-Hsuan Lin 68
Jose Iglesias 67
Jarrod Saltalamacchia 66
Ryan Lavarnway 61
Royals
Eric Hosmer 80
Alcides Escobar 80
Alex Gordon 74
Jarrod Dyson 73
Billy Butler 72
Tony Abreu 69
Brayan Pena 69
Salvador Perez 63
Mike Moustakas 63
Johnny Giavotella 63
Jeff Francoeur 52
Lorenzo Cain 42
