The Kansas City Royals will take on the Boston Red Sox tonight at Fenway Park, looking to avert a sweep after dropping the first two matchups of this series.
To that end, Kansas City will start Michael Wacha. Wacha is coming off arguably his best start of the season: an eight-inning gem in Toronto in which he allowed just one run. That was his longest outing of the season so far and also the fourth straight start in which he surrendered exactly one run. It seems unlikely that he will maintain the .152 BABIP against that he’s had in that span, but one can dream. Wacha last faced Boston in May of 2023 as a member of the Padres, tossing six shutout innings.
The Red Sox will counter with Dustin May. May will make his debut tonight against the last team that he faced as a member of the Dodgers. He has blown past his career high in innings pitched this season, eclipsing the 100-inning mark for the first time in his big league career. He hasn’t been particularly sharp, however, with a 4.85 ERA and peripherals to match. He primarily pitches off of a mid-80s sweeper and mid-90s sinker, the former of which has been quite effective while the latter has been crushed. May faced Kansas City a bit over a month ago and allowed four runs in four innings.
Jonathan India will bat somewhere besides the leadoff spot for the first time this season, sliding down to seven as Mike Yastrzemski will start things off.
