Royals want to crown first half with series win over Red Sox

The Kansas City Royals will seek their fifth consecutive win on Saturday when they visit the Boston Red Sox for the second game of a three-game series.

Kansas City extended its winning streak to four games with a 6-1 victory over Boston on Friday night. With the win, the Royals are now tied with the Red Sox for the third wild card spot in the American League.

“Any win is huge, whether it’s April or July, but when you’re on the heels of a team and you beat them, it’s a good step forward for us,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. “We’ll be ready tomorrow.”

Bobby Witt Jr. and MJ Melendez each hit a solo home run for the Royals in Friday’s win. Melendez has hit eight home runs in 14 career games against the Red Sox.

“Obviously we play this game to win,” Melendez said. “Even as little kids, we always just wanted to be the best and win. That’s something we want to do — we’re trying to build that culture. … We just play really well as a team. I just feel like we get along really well on and off the field, and that’s what helps us.”

Despite Friday night’s loss, Boston has an 8-3 record in their last 11 games. The Red Sox are trying to win their fourth straight series.

Boston only managed five goals on Friday.

“This is a team we want to beat,” Red Sox outfielder Tyler O’Neill said after Friday’s loss. “They played good baseball, and so did we. It’s a big series. We want to come out and do better tomorrow.”

“Just try to get better. Stick to the routine, show up tomorrow and try to keep up.”

Boston will face right-hander Seth Lugo (11-3, 2.21 ERA) on Saturday. Lugo, who signed a three-year, $45 million contract in the offseason, has an arsenal of 10 pitches, including three types of fastballs. He leads all major league pitchers in ERA and is third in innings pitched (122).

Lugo is one of four Royals on the American League All-Star roster and has been named as a possible starter for the AL in Tuesday’s game.

Lugo, who pitched mostly out of the bullpen in six of the first seven seasons of his nine-year major league career, is 0-1 with one save and a 5.40 ERA in three career appearances (3 1/3 innings) against the Red Sox.

Right-hander Kutter Crawford (5-7, 3.24) is scheduled to start for Boston. Crawford made one of the best starts of his career on Sunday, throwing 68 pitches (54 strikes) in seven scoreless innings to help the Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 3-0.

“This is probably the most efficient game I’ve ever played,” Crawford said. “I think a year or two ago I probably would have thrown 30 or 40 pitches in an inning. But it feels good to throw that many strikes and get that many early outs.”

–Field level media