Red Sox Wrap: James Paxton’s Struggles Continue In Loss To Royals

The month of September got off to a rough start for the Boston Red Sox as they were dismantled by the Kansas City Royals, 13-2, at Kauffman Stadium on Friday night.

The Red Sox drop to 69-66 with their fifth straight loss while the dreadful Royals stand at 42-94.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The gas tank for James Paxton is on empty.

The left-handed pitcher looked for a bounce-back outing after struggling in his last two starts, but Paxton, who even had an extra day of rest, didn’t deliver and instead posted the second-shortest outing of his big league career.

Paxton tossed just 1 1/3 innings as he got into trouble early and often. He allowed back-to-back homers in the bottom of the first and then couldn’t make it out of the second. He allowed six runs on five hits while walking two and striking out none. In his last three starts, Paxton has surrendered 16 runs and 18 hits in a combined 9 2/3 innings.

The Red Sox seemed to have the clear pitching advantage going into the series opener with Paxton being opposed by Jordan Lyles, who entered the game with a horrendous 3-15 record and a bloated 6.51 ERA. But the Red Sox could barely touch Lyles, making matters worse.

Paxton looked to be a bright spot for the Red Sox given how he performed for the majority of this season after not pitching in the majors in a couple of years. But his recent struggles have clouded the picture of him and brought the Red Sox to a new season low.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Salvador Pérez powered Kansas City’s offensive onslaught with two home runs and four RBIs. The eight-time All-Star finished 3-for-5.

— Lyles arguably had his best performance of the season. The veteran right-hander allowed just two runs on four hits while striking out seven and walking none in eight innings.

— Alex Verdugo provided the only offense for the Red Sox with a two-run homer in the top of the eighth inning. It was his 13th round-tripper of the season.

WAGER WATCH
FanDuel Sportsbook set the game’s over/under at 10 runs with -102 odds on the Over and even with minimal offensive production for the Red Sox, the Over still hit. A $100 wager on the Over would have netted a total of $198.04.

ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox look to snap their losing streak Saturday against the Royals. First pitch from Kauffman Stadium is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.