After walking the first two batters of the inning, Bard exited. Matt Albers served up a shot to Billy Butler and the rest was history.
Bard got charged for five runs and although he went as deep as he's ever been in his career, he took the loss.
End 8th, Royals 6-4: The bullpen just collapsed on Daniel Bard, who walked two batters to start the inning.
Upon coming in, Matt Albers allowed a three-run shot to Billy Butler, who has completely changed up this game.
You can't fault Albers completely since he inherited two base runners, but that's a tough one.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 4-3: In six of 13 games that Kelly Shoppach has played in, the catcher has struck out on multiple occasions.
He just has his second strikeout of the game. It looked like he was picking things back up with his triple on Monday and single to start Tuesday's game, but we'll see for sure in the coming days.
End 7th, Red Sox 4-3: Ladies and gentlemen, that's why Adrian Gonzalez is a Gold Glover.
He fired a bullet to Kelly Shoppach at home, getting Jeff Francouer nailed at the plate and preventing him for tying up the game.
Francouer was grimacing afterward, but hopped back up and strolled back to the dugout.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 4-3: Very funny scene in the seventh. When Cody Ross lost the grasp of his bat, the bat flew into the stands behind home plate.
Then two fans proceeded to fight over the bat while their respective friends tried to help with the tussle and add back up.
One kid eventually made away with it, but it was hilarious.
End 6th, Red Sox 4-3: Daniel Bard is cruising, although it's quite surprising that he hasn't recorded any strikeouts yet.
He's induced a heck of a lot of ground ball outs in this one — possibly more than normal — and got a double play to bail him out for another inning.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 4-3: The Royals' bullpen has stepped up for Danny Duffy exited.
Also here's an interesting note — the last time a Red Sox pitcher tossed two balks in one inning was on June 13, 1989, when John Dopson achieved the feat. He had a club record four that day.
End 5th, Red Sox 4-3: It didn't bode well initially when Daniel Bard walked Chris Getz to start the inning.
But nine pitches later, Bard escaped the inning unscathed. He's taking the necessary steps in his improvement as a starter and has retired 12 of the last 13 batters that he has faced.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 4-3: Look who decided to make an appearance, Ryan Sweeney.
Valentine probably wanted to insert him later in the game to keep his legs fresh. Sweeney grounded into a forceout, which was enough to score Adrian Gonzalez.
Gonzalez looks like he's finally finding a groove for himself.
End 4th, 3-3: Since his early dustup in the second inning, Bard has really settled down.
He induced three straight groundouts in that inning, quashing any concerns and extending his chances of going deep into this one.
At this point, Bobby Valentine feels the bullpen is almost back to normal, but a long outing by Bard could completely ensure that.
Mid 4th, 3-3: Dustin Pedroia hit an RBI single to deadlock the game for the Red Sox.
It helped that Mike Aviles set the table for him, hitting a double to put him in scoring position. But Pedroia is quietly amassing another strong season.
He came into the game hitting .311 with four homes and 11 RBIs.
End 3rd, Royals 3-2: Daniel Bard had a five-pitch inning, just what the doctor ordered after his last frame that took forever.
Bobby Valentine has said that he's concerned that his starters are getting in a bad pattern of complaining about umpires' calls early in games.
He wanted to put an end to that, which is why he spoke with Doubront on Monday.
Mid 3rd, Royals 3-2: This is where the Red Sox already miss Will Middlebrooks.
With two men on, Nick Punto ended up grounding into a double play. Since Middlebrooks hit a double in this one and has been sizzling, you never know if he would have knotted it up.
Also, I just got word that left hamstring tightness is what's keeping Middlebrooks out. The same injury as last time.
End 2nd, Royals 3-2: That was arguably the worst inning in Daniel Bard's brief stint as a starter.
It looked like he just lost focus there, recording two balks — one that scored a run, another that moved a runner to third — and threw a wild pitch and a walk. Oh yeah, he allowed two singles.
That was very unusual from Bard, who was taking steps in the right direction recently.
Mid 2nd, Red Sox 2-0: Before the game, Bobby Valentine was telling us that Kelly Shoppach was starting to swing the bat well.
He drove in Will Middlebrooks with a single. And something may have happened since Middlebrooks was pulled from the game for Nick Punto.
It could be that hamstring/cramping issue that plagued him during the home stand.
End 1st, 0-0: Alex Gordon grounded out, but broke his bat on a swing beforehand in the process. Half of his bat flew over to Dustin Pedroia.
Speaking of Pedroia, he and some of his teammates were watching television clips of the 2007 World Series victory against the Rockies before the game. It was on ESPN Classic and it was interesting watching relive the moment.
Mid 1st, 0-0: As you see that was the same starting order that Bobby Valentine had for the Red Sox on Monday.
Many have asked me why Ryan Sweeney isn't the lineup. Valentine told us before the game that he's trying to keep his "lower extremities" fresh in addition to not having him against lefties.
The Royals have all lefties going against the Sox in this series. But Saltalamacchia should see time for Shoppach on Wednesday.
7 p.m.: Here are the lineups.
Red Sox (12-16)
Mike Aviles, SS
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Cody Ross, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Darnell McDonald, LF
Marlon Byrd, CF
Kelly Shoppach, C
Daniel Bard, P
Royals (9-19)
Jarrod Dyson, CF
Alex Gordon, LF
Billy Butler, DH
Eric Hosmer, 1B
Jeff Francoeur, RF
Mike Moustakas, 3B
Chris Getz, 2B
Alcides Escobar, SS
Humberto Quintero, C
Danny Duffy, P
3:35 p.m. ET: Just got to Kauffman Stadium and it's 2:35 over here and the stadium is beautiful as I mentioned.
Here are some stories from Monday night and Tuesday morning to hold you over until game time:
Mike Aviles rewards faith of Ben Cherington, returns to Kansas City as Big Piece of Red Sox offense
Felix Doubront protects the bullpen with an efficient performance
Will Middlebrooks keeps crushing the ball at a rapid pace
8 a.m. ET: With Monday's win over the Royals (9-19), the Red Sox (12-16) snapped their five-game losing streak and are starting the uphill climb back to .500. The team will look for pitcher Daniel Bard to carry the torch in the second game of the three-games series against the Royals.
In Bard's last start against the Athletics, he wasn't quite as sharp as he's proven to be, lasting just 5 1/3 innings while allowing eight hits and four runs. He threw 101 pitches en route to earning his second loss of the season. Bard will take on Royals pitcher Dan Duffy, who limited the Yankees to two runs over 5 1/3 innings while striking out six in his last outing.
For details and analysis from Kauffman Stadium, follow NESN.com's live blog. Be sure to tune into NESN's pregame show at 6 p.m. First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET.
