Red Sox Wrap: Nick Pratto’s Walk-Off Homer Takes Down Boston

The Boston Red Sox suffered yet another walk-off loss as Nick Pratto’s home run in the bottom of the ninth inning off Garrett Whitlock lifted the Kansas City Royals to a 5-4 victory on Saturday at Kauffman Stadium.

With the defeat, the Red Sox fall to 54-55 while the Royals drop to 43-65.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Coming into this series against the lowly Royals, it looked like a great chance for the Red Sox to use it as an opportunity to catapult themselves forward to make a playoff push. However, Boston hasn’t taken advantage of the Royals.

Instead, the Red Sox were dealt a crushing defeat with their eighth walk-off loss of the season on Saturday.

The Red Sox just can’t seem to put it all together when they need to. They showed some resiliency against the Royals by overcoming three separate deficits, but could never take the lead.

Now, the Red Sox hope to salvage the four-game set by leaving Kansas City with a series split, which is a major disappointment.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Pratto came up in the clutch, getting the best of Whitlock, who had been mowing down hitters until that point. Pratto’s home run traveled 424 feet to dead center.

— Bobby Dalbec got the start at first base in place of Eric Hosmer and stepped up for the Red Sox. Dalbec blasted a two-run home run and finished the game with three RBIs.

— Alex Verdugo started the top of the sixth inning by belting a 419-foot homer off Royals left-handed starter Daniel Lynch. Verdugo’s round-tripper leveled the score at 4-4 at the time.

WAGER WATCH
Nathan Eovaldi wasn’t his sharpest, but his ability to rack up strikeouts could have made some bettors very happy. DraftKings Sportsbook set the right-hander’s over/under for strikeouts at 5.5, which Eovaldi surpassed as he fanned seven Royals. With +100 odds, a $100 bet would result in a total payout of $200.

ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox and Royals conclude their four-game series from Kauffman Stadium on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, with NESN 360.