Left: Boston Red Sox’s Masataka Yoshida breaks his bat hitting a single against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning of a baseball game, Monday, August 5, 2024
Below: Masataka Yoshida is congratulated after scoring on a double by Connor Wong in the seventh inning.
12:47 JST, August 6, 2024
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — James Paxton threw six solid innings, Masataka Yoshida matched his career-high with four of Boston’s 18 hits and the Red Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 9-5 on Monday night.
Boston, which has won four of its last five games, now trails the Royals by 1 1/2 games in the battle for the final wild-card spot in the American League.
Paxton (9-3) allowed two runs on five hits to earn his first victory since being traded from the Dodgers to the Red Sox.
Brady Singer (8-7) allowed four runs on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings. He allowed at least one hit in every inning.
David Hamilton doubled down the right-field line for Boston’s first run in the second. Jarren Duran added an RBI with a slow roller.
The Royals got on the board in the third. Kyle Isbel drew a one-out walk from Paxton and reached second on a groundout. Bobby Witt Jr. singled to right, scoring Isbel.
Michael Massey tripled off the top of the right-center field wall in the fourth inning and scored when Freddy Fermin tapped one off the end of the bat for an RBI single.
Boston regained the lead in the sixth. Reliever Angel Zerpa lined out to Duran down the left-field line, scoring two runs.
The Red Sox scored four more runs through Zerpa before recording an out in the seventh inning, including two thanks to a pinch-hit homerun by Romy Gonzalez.
The Royals scored two runs in the seventh inning against Cooper Criswell.
