Royals play the Red Sox in first of 3-game series

Updated Sep. 1, 2023 4:21 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Boston Red Sox (69-65, fourth in the AL East) vs. Kansas City Royals (41-94, fifth in the AL Central)

Kansas City, Missouri; Friday, 8:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Red Sox: James Paxton (7-4, 3.99 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 101 strikeouts); Royals: Jordan Lyles (3-15, 6.32 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 97 strikeouts)

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Red Sox -187, Royals +157; over/under is 9 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals host the Boston Red Sox on Friday to open a three-game series.

Kansas City has a 23-43 record at home and a 41-94 record overall. The Royals are 27-15 in games when they scored at least five runs.

Boston is 69-65 overall and 33-32 in road games. The Red Sox have a 25-12 record in games when they did not allow a home run.

The matchup Friday is the fifth time these teams square off this season. The Red Sox have a 3-1 advantage in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Royals with 27 home runs while slugging .501. Michael Massey is 7-for-39 with three doubles and two RBI over the past 10 games.

Justin Turner has 27 doubles and 22 home runs for the Red Sox. Adam Duvall is 18-for-39 with six doubles, seven home runs and 15 RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 1-9, .178 batting average, 5.57 ERA, outscored by 27 runs

Red Sox: 3-7, .291 batting average, 6.07 ERA, outscored by nine runs

INJURIES: Royals: Salvador Perez: day-to-day (back/neck), John McMillon: 15-Day IL (forearm), Brad Keller: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Nick Pratto: 10-Day IL (groin), Daniel Lynch: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Josh Staumont: 60-Day IL (neck), Josh Taylor: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Vinnie Pasquantino: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Kris Bubic: 60-Day IL (flexor)

Red Sox: Pablo Reyes: 10-Day IL (elbow), Brennan Bernardino: 15-Day IL (covid-19), Corey Kluber: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jarren Duran: 10-Day IL (toe), Joely Rodriguez: 15-Day IL (hip), Kaleb Ort: 60-Day IL (elbow), Zack Kelly: 60-Day IL (elbow), Wyatt Mills: 60-Day IL (elbow), Adalberto Mondesi: 60-Day IL (knee)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.