Red Sox Notes: ‘Humble Approach’ Lifted Boston Past Royals In Series Opener

The Red Sox recorded 18 hits and nine runs in their win over the Royals on Monday night. Boston has won four of its last five games and now trails Kansas City by 1 1/2 games for the final American League wild card spot.

Manager Alex Cora said the Red Sox hitters took a “humble approach” against the Royals in the 9-5 victory.

“Just a humble approach to be honest with you,” Cora told reporters in Kansas City, per NESN’s postgame coverage. “We hit the ball all over the place. We ran the bases as well. The kids did an amazing job in the bottom of the lineup. (Nick Sogard) had a great game. (David Hamilton) did a great job. We just kept putting pressure on them. … Give our guys credit, they showed up today. They did their job, and now we have a shot to win the series.”

Boston also had a solid night defensively on the diamond, led by highlight reel catches from Jarran Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela.

“He’s so special,” Cora said of Rafaela. “I think 60 games at (shortstop), 60 games at center field. … That play was amazing. It’s a long way there, it’s 411 feet, so obviously, there’s a lot of room to cover, and he did an amazing job.”

Rafaela told reporters the sky wasn’t clear when he was making his way back to the warning track for the backhanded catch.

Red Sox Wrap: Four-Run Seventh-Inning Lifts Boston Past Royals

Here are more notes from Monday’s Red Sox-Royals game:

— Alex Cora became the fourth Red Sox manager to record 500 wins with the club, joining Terry Francona (500-362), Joe Cronin (500-430) and Mike Higgins (500-495), per the club’s senior manager of media relations and baseball information J.P. Long.

— James Paxton allowed two runs on five hits while striking out four batters across six innings in his first win since rejoining the Red Sox on July 26.

“I felt good out there,” Paxton told reporters after the win. “To have (Cora) have that confidence in me, let me go, that was awesome. I’m just competing. I’m giving everything I got and if it’s still working, it’s still working.”

— Rafael Devers went 2-for-4 from the plate to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.

— Jarren Duran has started all 111 games for the Red Sox this season. He is the only player in franchise history to record at least 25 stolen bases and 60 extra-base hits in the club’s first 110 games.

In the win, Duran went 1-for-5 from the plate and led the Red Sox with three RBIs. He recorded his 35th double and 27th stolen base of the season.

— Romy Gonzalez pinch hit for Dominic Smith in the seventh inning. He launched his third home run of the season 452 feet to center to give the Red Sox an 8-2 lead.

— Cora said reliever Chris Martin joined the team in Kansas City and played catch inside. Martin has been on the injured list since July 4 with right elbow inflammation.

“We’ll see how he feels tomorrow,” Cora said. “But it seems like he’s trending to be activated on Wednesday.”

— Boston improved to 16-21 in series-opening games, 33-23 on the road, 10-12 against AL Central teams, 54-17 when scoring four or more runs, 41-16 when scoring first and 46-29 when recording a home run.

— The Red Sox continue their three-game set against the Royals on Tuesday night. First pitch from Kauffman Stadium is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET. You can catch all the action, plus an hour of pregame coverage on NESN.