In this American League matchup, the Red Sox (58-54, 31-26 home) play host to the Royals (36-78, 15-42 away) at Fenway Park. Taking the mound for the Red Sox is Kutter Crawford, while the Royals will go with Brady Singer. Check out my pick for two of this Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals matchup.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS VS BOSTON RED SOX BETTING PICK

The Pick: Kansas City Royals +1.5 Runs

This game will be played at Fenway Park at 7:10 ET on Tuesday, August 8th.

WHY BET THE KANSAS CITY ROYALS:

  • The Royals will be taking on a Red Sox club that is just 2-3 vs. the runline over their last five games.
  • Against the runline, the Red Sox have gone just 1-4 in their last five home games.
  • In Brady Singer’s three most recent starts, the Royals are 2-1.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS SEEK TO IMPROVE THEIR ROAD RECORD

Heading into the game, the Royals are 5th in the AL Central on an overall record of 36-78. The team’s season-long road record is 15-42, which includes losing each of their past five road series. Against the runline, the Royals are 45-69 and have an over/under mark of 54-58. Their runline record on the road is 21-36 this year.

Brady Singer has taken the hill 22 times in 2023, compiling a 7-8 record. He’s currently on a three-game streak of not allowing a home run, and his slugging percentage allowed sits at .443. Singer has struck out 104 batters this season, and his WHIP is 1.39.

Kansas City is looking to Brady Singer to lead them to another victory after he pitched a stellar game against the Mets, shutting them out with zero earned runs on three hits over eight innings in their last matchup, which ended 9-2.

Over their last five games, the Royals are ranked 13th in the league in scoring at 3.8 runs per game. Their season-long scoring average of 3.9 per contest puts them 26th in baseball. In terms of on-base percentage, Kansas City is 22nd, with an OBP currently sitting at .297. The team’s collective batting average is .238 (18th).

Bobby Witt Jr. has been one of the Kansas City Royals’ most productive hitters in 2023, boasting a .269 batting average and driving in 68 runs. The young star has also hit 20 home runs this season.

WILL THE BOSTON RED SOX TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS AT HOME?

Entering game 113 of their season, the Red Sox are 12 games out in the AL East and are in 4th place. So far, their overall series record stands at 19-15-3. Boston’s road winning percent is currently 49.1% (27-28) compared to 54.4% at home (31-26).

Kutter Crawford takes the mound with an overall record of 5-5 and an ERA of 3.62. On the road, he has been impressive, boasting a 5-3 record and 2.17 ERA in 12 appearances. At home, however, his numbers are not as strong; he has gone 0-2 with a 6.58 ERA in the same amount of games. His season-long WHIP stands at 1.08, accompanied by a batting average allowed of .222; opponents have managed to slug at just .384 against him so far this year.

Kutter Crawford’s last outing ended with him going five innings in the Red Sox’s 6-3 loss to the Mariners. He was unable to secure a win, but he did not allow any runs and only gave up four hits, resulting in a no-decision.

In their ten most recent games, the Red Sox have put together a batting average of only .224, placing them 24th compared to the rest of the league. At 4.9 runs per game, Boston is 9th in the MLB. This figure has come on a team batting average of .262 and OPS of .761 which has them 7th in baseball.

The Red Sox’s offensive leader Masataka Yoshida has been a force to be reckoned with this season, boasting a .306 batting average. His impressive .481 slugging percentage and .364 on-base percentage have been integral to the team’s success in 2023.