KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jarrod Dyson capped a 10-pitch at-bat with a tiebreaking, two-run double in a three-run third inning off Nathan Eovaldi, and the Kansas City Royals rallied to beat the Boston Red Sox 7-3 Sunday for their first series win in nearly three weeks.
“It was a good series win against a good team,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “We are seeing a lot of components coming together.”
Mike Minor (6-4) allowed two runs and nine hits over 6 2/3 innings for the Royals, who had lost 12 of their previous 14 games. “If felt like I made decent pitches and felt pretty good,” Minor said. “That is a tough team over there and luckily we were able to take the series.”
Whit Merrifield got his 800th major league hit in the first and hit a two-run homer in the sixth against Yacksel Ríos.
Kansas City, which won two of three against Boston, had not won a series since taking two games from Pittsburgh on May 31 and June 1.
Eovaldi (7-4) lost his second straight decision after winning four in a row. He gave up four runs — three earned — and seven hits in four innings.
Kansas City out-hit Boston 15-11. The Red Sox stranded 10 runners and went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position as they lost for only the second time in their last six games. “Offensively we just didn’t get the big hit," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "We started well but we just couldn’t get that big hit today,”
With Boston leading 2-0 on Kiké Hernández's two-run homer on an 0-2 slider in the second, first baseman Bobby Dalbec allowed Michael A. Taylor's two-out grounder to bounce off his glove for a run-scoring error in the bottom half.
Salvador Pérez tied the score with a third-inning single for his 47th RBI, and Dyson's double to left put the Royals ahead 4-2. “That Dyson at-bat changed the game,” Matheny said. “It could have been a huge momentum shift if we didn’t score, but Dyson comes up and put up the best at-bat of the year.”
Merrifield homered in the sixth to make it 6-2. Hunter Dozier, who stopped an 0-for-21 slide with a single in the second, added an RBI single in the sixth.
Rafael Devers hit his 18th home run of the season in the eighth, a drive off Carlos Hernández.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: C Kevin Plawecki left in the fourth inning with left hamstring tightness. ... 2B Christian Arroyo exited in the fifth with a right shinbone bruise after sliding awkwardly to avoid a collision with Kiké Hernández on a fly ball in shallow center.
Royals: C Cam Gallagher (right shoulder impingement syndrome) was placed on the 10-day injured list. Kansas City recalled Sebastian Rivero from Triple-A Omaha. Adalberto Mondesi exited the game in the seventh as a precautionary measure. Mondesi has spent two stints on the IL this season with an oblique strain and hamstring strain.
UP NEXT
Red Sox: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (5-4, 6.21) starts Tuesday at Tampa Bay as Boston continues an eight-game trip with a matchup between the top two teams in the AL East. The Red Sox lead by a half-game.
Royals: RHP Brady Singer (3-5, 4.76) opens a three-game series at the New York Yankees, who start RHP Gerrit Cole (8-3, 2.31) in his first appearance since Major League Baseball started its crackdown on the use of grip substances. Kansas City is starting a 10-game trip.
____hh
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
