The Boston Red Sox fell back to their losing ways with a series-opening loss to the Kansas City Royals, 7-3, at Kauffman Stadium on Thursday night.
Boston fell to 53-54 on the season while the Royals improved to 42-64.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
You've heard it once and you'll hear it one million times, this iteration of the Boston Red Sox is built to win low-scoring games. Thursday night was the exact example of how that strategy may not be a recipe for consistent success.
The game fell apart for Boston in the seventh inning. After catcher Kevin Plawecki tied the game in the top of the inning with an RBI single, manager Alex Cora handed the reins to recently recalled reliever Darwinzon Hernandez in the bottom half of the frame. The next four batters would do the following:
Walk
Single
Single
Home Run
Royals lead.
Though there's a question as to whether the home run was actually a home run -- Cora was ejected for arguing the fact -- the game seemingly would have unraveled in that spot no matter what. Instead of going with super reliever Garrett Whitlock, Cora chose to try and save him and give Hernandez a clean inning. Unfortunately, it looks like that isn't a viable option for the Red Sox at this point.
STARS OF THE GAME
-- Salvador Perez was showing off in front of former teammate Eric Hosmer. The veteran catcher finished 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI.
-- Nicky Lopez was burning the Red Sox on the base paths, scoring a pair of runs and stealing two bases in the Royals win.
-- Plawecki was solid at the dish, finishing 2-for-4 with a game-tying RBI in the seventh inning. Unfortunately the big hit was forgotten following the bottom half of the frame.
WAGER WATCH
The Royals hit the Over on their run total (3.5) with a loud seventh inning. At -135 odds, according to DraftKings Sportsbook, a $100 bet would have paid out $174.07.
ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox return to action Friday night in Kansas City against the Royals. First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. ET following an hour of pregame coverage, and you can watch it with NESN 360.
