KANSAS CITY
Cheap
Uchenna Nwosu Jersey , Mo. — The Boston Red Sox and the Kansas City
Royals, two diametrically opposite clubs, meet in a three-game series beginning
Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.
To say they are polar extremes would not be an exaggeration.
The Red Sox own the best record in the majors at 59-29. They have won eight of their past 10 and 10 of their past 13. They are 30 games over .500 for the
first since they ended the 2013 season 32 games above.
Boston leads the American League with 463 runs and has outscored its opponents by 130 runs.
On the flip side, the Royals have lost six straight, 18 of 21 and 25 of 30. They are 25-61 and are 36 games below .500 for the first time since ending the
2006 season 62-100.
Kansas City ranks last in the American League with 297 runs and has been outscored by 167 runs.
“We didn’t have opportunities to manufacture runs,” manager Ned Yost told reporters after Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians. “We had
opportunities with runners in scoring position that we couldn’t capitalize on.
And that’s been a major problem for us all year long.”
The Red Sox are 31-17 on the road. The Royals have lost 12 of their last 13 games at Kauffman Stadium and their 11-32 home record is the worst in the
majors.
The Royals have not scored more than four runs in 25 of their last 26 games. They have failed to collect double-figure hits in 25 of their last 26 games and
are batting .191 with 55 runs in that stretch.
And who do the Royals face in the opener of this series?
None other than dominant left-hander Chris Sale, who leads the American League with 164 strikeouts and is averaging 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
Opponents own a .179 batting average versus Sale (8-4, 2.41 ERA).
“He looks like the best pitcher in the big leagues right now
Weston
Richburg Jersey 49ers ,” Boston manager Alex Cora said.
Sale, who ranks among the league leaders in overall ERA, owns a 2.32 road ERA and a 2.45 night ERA. He enters the game having not allowed a run in his past 15
innings. Sale is 3-1 with a 1.03 ERA in his past five starts after striking out
and allowing a first-inning single to Giancarlo Stanton in seven dominant
innings in an 11-0 win at Yankee Stadium over the New York Yankees on
Saturday.
“He was outstanding again,” Cora said. “Fastball command and off-speed pitches, it was a great performance.”
Sale is 10-10 with a 2.92 ERA in 33 career appearances, 22 starts, against Kansas City. He held the Royals to two runs and five hits while walking two and
striking out six over seven innings in a no-decision on May 1 at Fenway Park.
Sale is 2-0 with a 2.87 ERA in his last four starts in Kansas City, striking out
34 and walking five.
The Royals will counter with right-hander Jason Hammel
Youth
Uchenna Nwosu Jersey , who is 2-10 with a 5.56 ERA. He is tied for the AL
lead in losses and has yielded 15 runs in his last two starts. He is 0-5 with a
4.33 ERA in seven home starts this season.
Against the Red Sox, Hammel is 3-4 with a 5.13 ERA in 16 career appearances, nine of them starts. He dropped a 10-6 decision on April 30 to Boston, allowing
eight runs on eight hits, including a pair of home runs, and three walks over 4
2/3 innings.
While Sale was the AL Pitcher of the Month for June, Hammel went 0-5 with a 6.43 ERA in six starts last month after ending May with back-to-back
victories.
Hammel’s biggest challenge will be Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez. They rank 1-2 in the majors in slugging percentage with Betts at .669 and Martinez
.642.
Betts has 21 home runs and a .338 batting average. Martinez is hitting .327 with a major league-best 26 home runs, which is more than any Boston player hit
in 2017.
Betts also hit three homers at Fenway Park on May 2 and went 4-for-4 in that game.
Jon Gruden targeted Paul Guenther as his defensive coordinator in his return to Oakland even before he got the Raiders
job
Adidas
Wayne Simmonds Jersey , believing his aggressive defensive scheme was just
what the team needed to reverse years of bad play.
Guenther's task has been even harder than originally thought because he is still waiting to get Oakland's best defensive player in camp.
Star edge rusher Khalil Mack skipped the entire offseason program and now extended his holdout into training camp as he seeks a long-term contract
commensurate with the skills of one of the NFL's top defensive players.
"I really can't worry about that right now," Guenther said Sunday after Oakland's first padded practice. "I'm just trying to coach the guys who are out
here. Obviously when he gets here, if he gets here, he'll be an exciting piece
to add."
There is no indication of when that time will come as Mack's camp and Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie have been quiet about negotiations. Mack is
entering the final season of his rookie contract that is set to pay him $13.8
million and Oakland would have the option of using the franchise tag next
offseason if no long-term deal is reached.
Mack is one of several prominent holdouts this summer, joining players like Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, Seattle safety Earl Thomas. Pittsburgh
running back Le'Veon Bell is also staying away from training camp but is not a
holdout since he has not signed his franchise tender.
"He's working," fellow edge rusher Bruce Irvin said. "I talk to him every day. He misses it. You just know how it is. He's working his butt off and when
he gets in here he'll be ready."
Mack has been one of the top defensive players in football since being drafted in the first round in 2014. He was a first-team All-Pro at both
defensive end and linebacker in 2015 and won AP Defensive Player of the Year in
2016. He has 40 1/2 sacks in four seasons and leads the NFL in QB pressures with
185 1/2 since entering the league, according to SportRadar.
Free-agent acquisition Tank Carradine has taken over Mack's role at defensive end on the base defense but is not an accomplished pass rusher. The Raiders
hoped to upgrade that rush by drafting defensive end Arden Key and tackles
Maurice Hurst and P.J. Hall.
Key and Hurst have shown good bursts early in training camp as the Raiders prepare without Mack.
"We can't worry about who isn't here because when Khalil gets tired
Armani
Watts Color Rush Jersey , when he goes out of the game, the guys who are
here have to go into the game and play while he is tired," Irvin said. "He
rarely gets tired, but when he does those guys have to be ready. We're focused
on getting these young guys ready and that stuff will take care of itself."
Irvin is also taking on a bigger role in the pass rush after spending his first two seasons in Oakland as an outside linebacker who also rushed the
passer.
Irvin dropped into coverage on almost one-third of pass plays last season, according to SportRadar. But Guenther plans to use him almost exclusively as a
defensive end in his defense.
"I just think his best gift is going forward," Guenther said. "That's what he should be doing each and every down. Instead of playing linebacker and dropping
into coverage, we have to utilize his and everybody else's talents the best we
can."
NOTES: CB Gareon Conley has missed the past two days with a hip strain sustained on the first day of practice. ... RB Jalen Richard left practice with
an undisclosed injury.
.
