Royals 5, Red Sox 3

An eighth-inning bullpen meltdown cost the Red Sox dearly, as a two-run lead was quickly transformed into a two-run deficit, leading to a frustrating 5-3 setback to the Kansas City Royals Sunday.

Drew Pomeranz limited the Royals to a single run over 6.2 innings, but after Brandon Workman got the final out in the seventh, Matt Barnes and Robbie Scott combined to allow four runs as the Royals used an inning-opening error by Xander Bogaerts and four straight hits afterward to overtake the Sox. Alcides Escobar singled home two off Barnes and Scott was tagged for a two-run triple by Alex Gordon.

The Red Sox loaded the bases in the ninth with walks to Jackie Bradley Jr. and Rafael Devers sandwiched around a single by Christian Vazquez. But Royals closer Kelvin Herrera closed the win out by getting Mookie Betts to fly out to center.

The Sox had used run-scoring singles from Mitch Moreland and Vazquez in the second and a solo homer from Devers in the fifth to stake Pomeranz to a 3-1 lead.

IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:

* One encouraging sign for the Red Sox today has been Mitch Moreland. Moreland drilled a run-scoring opposite   field single in the second, then pulled a hard-hit double into the right field corner in the fourth inning. Those are the kinds of at-bats that Moreland displayed often in the first two months. Lately, he's been in a horrendous slump, no doubt partly the result of a broken toe that severely limited him at the plate. In the last 34 games, dating from June 16 to today, Moreland had a slash line of .145/.226./.231. The Sox continue to maintain that the quickest fix to their offensive woes would be for the existing veterans on the roster to begin producing more and Moreland is an obvious example of that.

* In addition to his fifth inning homer -- his second in the last four games -- Rafael Devers continues to show some signs of settling in at third base. He started two 5-4-3 double plays today, including one on a ball hit by Kansas City catcher Salvador Perez. Infield instructor Brian Butterfield and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski last week talked about the rookie's internal clock -- that is, his ability to stay composed under pressure and knowledge of when he has to hurry a throw and when he doesn't. Knowing that the slow-footed Perez was the baserunner out of the box, Devers took his time and made sure that he got a good throw to second baseman Eduardo Nunez, who had plenty of time to pivot and get Perez at first.

 

GAME NO.: 106

WHO: Red Sox (57-48) vs. Kansas City Royals (54-48)

WHEN: 1:35 pm

WHERE: Fenway Park

TV: NESN

RADIO: WEEI (93.7 FM)

PITCHERS: LHP Drew Pomeranz (10-4, 3.59) vs. RHP Jason Hammel (4-8, 4.81)

BOX SCORE: MLB Gameday

SERIES TO DATE: Kansas City, 3-2. The Royals took two-of-three at home earlier this season, while the two teams have split the first two games of this weekend series.

WHERE THINGS STAND: The Sox' extra-inning win Saturday night snapped the Royals' nine-game winning streak. The victory was the first walk-off win for the Red Sox on an RBI-groundout
in 80 years.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Pomeranz has won his last four decisions and the team is 5-1 in his last six starts and
are 9-3 in his last 12. Dustin Pedroia (knee) is out for a second straight day, with Eduardo Nunez getting the start again at second base. The Royals began the season just 1-11 in day games, but more recently, is 16-7 since May 11.

STAT OF NOTE: The Red Sox are 9-3 in extra-innings game this season, with six such games since June 30.

LINEUPS:

RED SOX

Betts RF
Nunez 2B
Benintendi LF
Ramirez DH
Bradley Jr. CF
Bogaerts SS
Moreland 1B
Vazquez C
Devers 3B

ROYALS

Merrifield 2B
Bonifacio RF
Cain CF
Hosmer 1B
Perez DH
Escobar SS
Gordon LF
Torres 3B
Butera C

PRE-GAME NOTES:

* Dustin Pedroia was out of the lineup for a second straight day, still bothered by a sore left
knee which was surgically repaired in the off-season. Eduardo Nunez again took Pedroia's spot at
second. "Day-to-day,'' said Farrell. "The knee gets irritated with volume (of play) and as that
flares up, we've got to monitor it and expose him to additional treatment and just be cautious of
recovery time. This is something that we've got to pay close attention to.'' It hasn't helped that the Sox
have had some doubleheaders, long games and extra-inning games in the second half.
* The Red Sox will honor the 2007 World Series team prior to the game. A host of players will
be on hand, including J.D. Drew, Curt Schilling, Kevin Youkilis and Julio Lugo.