FINAL: Royals 8 , Red Sox 4 - Witt Jr Powers Kansas City over Boston

The Red Sox lost the final game of the three-game series in Kansas City 8-4 on Wednesday night. The biggest takeaway is that Kutter Crawford struggled again tonight going 3.2 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 3 K and 4 BB. Walks were the killer for Crawford tonight which extended the opportunities for the Royals at the plate. Crawford has now allowed 13 homers in his last 15.1 innings pitched. I still do not see the Red Sox DFAing Crawford because I think they should give him an opportunity in the bullpen which is a spot he might shine better in anyway. Also, he has 11 quality starts on the season and has pitched into the sixth and seventh inning for most of the season. Just because he is starting to slow down doesn't mean you get rid of him. Bobby Witt Jr hit a solo homer in the 1st inning giving Kansas City a 1-0 lead. 

Witt didn't stop there as he went on to hit a two-run double in the 4th inning which gave the Royals a 5-4 lead. 

Witt also hit his 2nd bomb of the night in the 6th inning which made it 8-4 Royals. Witt Jr would probably be the American League MVP this season if Aaron Judge was not having another historical season. 

Michael Massey hit an RBI Single in the 2nd inning which gave Kansas City a 2-0 lead. 

Romy Gonzalez hit a three-run homer in the third inning which gave Boston a 3-2 lead. 

MJ Melendez scored on a Crawford wild pitch which cut the Boston lead to 4-3. 

Danny Jansen hit his first home run with Boston in the 4th inning which gave the Red Sox a 4-2 lead. 

Vinnie Pasquantino hit a 2-run homer in the 4th inning which gave the Royals a 7-4 lead. 

Chris Martin pitched a scoreless 8th inning striking out Kansas City in order in his return from the IL. 

Overall, Boston had a great road trip by winning both series in Texas and Kansas City and I don't believe there should be any major concerns at the moment. The Red Sox will be back in action on Friday night when they welcome the Houston Astros to Fenway Park for a three-game weekend starting at 7:10 p.m. 

____________________________

WHO: Red Sox (61-51) at Kansas City Royals (63-52)
WHEN: 8:10 p.m.
WHERE: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City. 
SERIES TO DATE: 2-0
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Kutter Crawford (7-8, 3.81 ERA) vs. LHP Cole Ragans (8-7, 3.36 ERA)
TV/RADIO: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7
LIVE BOX
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Duran LF
Refsnyder RF
Gonzalez 2B
Devers 3B
Wong 1B
Jansen C
Yoshida DH
Sogard SS
Rafaela SS

SP Kutter Crawford 

OPPONENT
Massey 2B
Witt Jr. SS
Pasquantino DH
Perez 1B
Renfroe RF
Melendez LF
Fermin C
Garcia 3B
Isbel CF

SP Cole Ragans 

WHAT'S UP

• Boston goes for the series sweep before returning home on Friday to begin a three-game weekend series with the Houston Astros. 

The Red Sox made multiple moves prior to the game tonight including:

• Placing OF Tyler O'Neill on the IL, retroactive to August 4, with a left leg infection. 
• Recalled infielder/outfielder Enmanuel Valdez from Triple-A Worcester. 
• Reinstated RHP Chris Martin from the 15-Day IL. 
• Optioned left-handed pitcher Cam Booser to Worcester.
• Boston will skip Nick PIvetta's next start. Alex Cora said Pivetta was not responding well the the last start. They feel skipping and with the off day, he will reset. They specifically didn't like the  velocity of the fastball. 
• Cora also said O'Neill has been sick and had the infection in his leg since towards the end of the trip in Texas. Cora said it is getting worse and he is getting treatment, so he probably won't play in the next three or five days. 
• The Red Sox have won 3 consecutive games and 6 of their last 8, after going 2-7 in their previous 9, following the All-Star break.
• Boston leads MLB in hits (1,030), doubles (230), XBH (400), and OPS (.775).
• They rank 2nd in AVG (.265) and SLG (.445), while ranking T-3rd in triples (28), and 4th in runs scored (559) and OBP (.330).
•  Since the All-Star break, Boston leads the Majors in AVG (.304), SLG (.544), OPS (.908), runs scored (113), hits (196), total bases (351), and doubles (57).
• With last night's win, the Red Sox improved to 19-13-5 in series play, including 10-7-2 on the road...They have won 3 consecutive series after losing 3 straight following the All-Star break.
•  The Sox have won or tied 15 of their last 19 series, beginning 5/30 (11-4-4).
• With a win tonight, the Sox would record their 6th sweep of the season, all on the road (previous: 7/2-4 at MIA). 
• Kenley Jansen recorded his 441st career save last night...He currently sits 1 save ahead of BAL’s Craig Kimbrel for 4th on the all-time list .
•  He’s 9 SO shy of tying Aroldis Chapman (1,215) for 5th-most SO as a reliever in MLB history. 
• The Red Sox are 12-6 at Kauffman Stadium since the start of 2018, and 4-1 over the last 2 seasons at the venue.