KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
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BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:
STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox have lost 8 of their last 10 games, including 5 of their last 6 following a 5-game winning streak from 7/25-30. The Sox are 7-8 in their last 15 games. At 58-55 (.513), Boston is tied for MLB’s 16th best record.
CITY CONNECT: Last night the Red Sox snapped a 10-game winning streak in their City Connect uniforms, dating back to 7/18/22…They fell to 22-5 overall when wearing them, including 7-1 in 2023. They’ve outscored opponents 144-86 when wearing them. The uniform adopts the blue and yellow colors that honor the spirit of Patriots Day weekend, and features “Boston” in a stencil font across the chest paying tribute to the Boylston Street finish line.
IT’S GO TIME: Monday the Red Sox began a stretch of 10 straight games against teams who currently hold a record below .500 (1-1 vs. KC, 3 vs. DET, 3 at WSH). Those 3 teams own a combined record of 137-205 (.401). Prior to this stretch, Boston played 11 straight games against teams at or above .500…They went 4-7 over that span (2-0 vs. ATL, 1-2 at SF, 1-2 at SEA, 0-3 vs. TOR). 6 of the Sox’ 11 series from 7/7-8/17 are against teams that entered today with a record of .500 or lower.
DOUBLE TAP: Last night Jarren Duran hit an RBI double in the 7th inning. It was Duran’s 50th career double in his 183rd career game…Is the 4th fewest games to reach that mark in Red Sox history (see below). Duran’s 33 doubles lead the AL and rank 2nd in MLB (Freddie Freeman-37) since his season debut on 4/17.
FEWEST GP TO HIT 50 DOUBLES IN RED SOX HISTORY
Rk. Player G
- Dom DiMaggio 156
- Fred Lynn 163
- Ted Williams 165
- Jarren Duran 183
BACK TO THE GRIND: Boston is currently on a season-long 10-game homestand (3 vs. TOR, 4 vs. KC, 3 vs. DET). Boston is in a stretch of 32 games in 34 days, from 7/28-8/30…They will only have 1 day off (8/14) in a 27-day span from 8/4-30. After their off day on 8/14, the Sox will play a game on 16 consecutive days from 8/15-30.
SOX & ROYALS: The Sox are 11-4 vs. KC at Fenway Park since the start of 2018, including 7-2 in their last 9… They’ve won each of the last 4 series played at the venue. Boston went 3-4 against the Kansas City in 2022… Are 19-8 vs. the Royals since the start of 2018. The Red Sox will visit Kauffman Stadium for a 3-game series from 9/1-3.
CENTRAL TIME: The Red Sox are 12-9 against AL Central teams this season, after going 18-15 in 2022. Monday began a stretch of 7 straight games against AL Central teams (1-1 vs. KC, 3 vs. DET). They’re 3-2-1 in series against AL Central opponents (3-0 at DET, 2-1 vs. MIN, 2-1 vs. CLE, 1-2 at CLE, 2-2 at MIN, 1-2 at CWS).
RUNNIN’ RED SOX: The Sox rank 5th in the AL and 11th in the majors in stolen base % (80.6, 79-for-98). The Sox’ top 3 leaders in steals are a combined 38- for-42 (90.5%): Jarren Duran (23-for-25), Masataka Yoshida (8-for-8), and Rob Refsnyder (7-for-9).
SLUGGING SOX: The Red Sox rank 2nd in MLB in doubles (248)…They rank 2nd in the AL in AVG (.261) and XBH (389), and 5th in OBP (.328), 4th in SLG (.431) and OPS (.761). In their last 30 games since 6/30, Boston leads the AL in AVG (.270), and rank 2nd in SLG (.463) and 3rd in OPS (.788). The Sox have hit 37 HR in their last 24 games since 7/8, 5th most in the AL and T-10th in MLB during that span.
RED SOX OFFENSE BY DATE
Dates Record AVG OPS Runs/G
3/30-5/6 21-14 .273 .800 5.9
5/7-6/13 12-21 .243 .704 3.8
6/14-7/27 22-12 .281 .803 5.4
7/28-pres. 3-8 .221 .656 3.3
HOME COOKING: The Sox have lost 4 of their last 5 home games…They’re 10-5 in their last 15 home games. In 16 home games since the start of July, the Sox have 53
XBH (30 2B, 3 3B, 20 HR). At home, the Sox lead the majors in AVG (.287)…They also rank 2nd in OBP (.352) and 3rd in OPS (.817), 4th in SLG (.465), and 5th in runs scored per game (5.45).
HIGH FIVE: Boston owns MLB’s best record when scoring 5+ runs (47-7, .870)…They have scored 5 or fewer runs in 5 of their last 6 games since 8/2 at SEA. Since 6/14, they’ve won 20 of their last 21 games when scoring 5+ runs, including each of their last 6 since 7/22.
LATE SURGE: Boston has scored 240 runs in innings 6-9, 2nd most in the AL behind TEX (250)…BOS leads the AL and ranks 2nd in MLB in hits during those innings (428; MIA-453).
LOCK IT DOWN: The Red Sox own MLB’s best record when leading after 6 innings (44-3, .936)…In 2022, they ranked 18th in MLB when leading after 6 (63-10, .863). Boston leads MLB in save % (75.6; 31-for-41). Kenley Jansen ranks 5th in the AL with 24 saves.
MARTY PARTY: Since 6/9, Chris Martin has allowed only one run over his last 21 outings, including 16 straight scoreless appearances from 6/9-7/25…His 0.48 ERA over that span is T-2nd best in MLB (min. 15.0 IP). Overall, his 1.49 ERA leads the Red Sox and is 4th best in the majors (min. 30 games). His home ERA of 0.49 ranks 2nd in MLB behind only Josh Hader’s mark of 0.42 (min. 20 games).
ON THE MEND: Chris Sale,Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock are on rehab assignments with Triple-A Worcester. Sale did not allow a run over 2 starts at Syracuse on 8/1 & 8/6 (6.1 IP, 4 H, 10 SO, 2 BB, 93 pitches). Houck made his 1st rehab start Saturday at Syracuse, allowing 2 runs in 1.2 IP (3 H, 3 BB, 3 SO, 46 pitches)…He is scheduled to start Thursday vs. Buffalo. Whitlock made his 1st rehab start today vs. Buffalo, allowing 2 hits over 2.1 IP (3 SO, HB, 46 pitches).
TONIGHT’S STARTER: 37 NICK PIVETTA – RHP
W-L ERA G GS IP ER HR BB SO WHIP AVG
2023 7-6 4.19 27 9 92.1 43 15 36 112 1.17 .210
CAREER 47-56 4.92 185 145 833.1 456 139 327 896 1.37 .255
Is starting for the 2nd occasion in his last 3 appearances. Allowed 4 runs over 4.0 IP in relief on Saturday vs. TOR (6 H, 2 BB, 2 SO). In 17 relief outings this season, has a 2.40 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and .152 opponent AVG (45.0 IP, 15 R/12 ER, 24 H, 17 BB, 60 SO). In his last 6 outings, Pivetta has struck out 39 batters and walked only 6. In 17 outings (1 start) since 5/28, has a 2.30 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, and .148 opponent AVG (47.0 IP, 12 ER, 64 SO, 17 BB). Among the 141 pitchers who threw 30.0+ innings in June and July, ranked 1st in WHIP (0.79), opponent AVG (.122), and strikeout rate (39.7%)…Also led the AL with a 2.08 ERA in that time.
