This is the perfect opportunity for the Red Sox to end their losing streak with David Ortiz back in the line up as well as Bruce Chen coming to town who has a 11.45 ERA over his last three starts at Fenway. The Red Sox are hot with the bats too scoring 7.06 runs per 9 at home this year vs. LHP and 6.51 in their last 10. While the Royals are only scoring 3.84 runs per 9 on the road and are hitting .243 scoring 1.88 runs per 9 in their last 10 vs. LHP.
John Lester takes the mound looking for another quality start and I think he's finally turned it around. He's 5-1 with a 1.35 ERA vs. the Royals in his career and he's on extra rest where he's performed well of late pitching to a 3.58 ERA over his last 5 starts on 5 days rest. The Royals line up has a .216 average with 0 HR (13-60) against him tonight while the Red Sox have been great against Chen with a .310 average and 4 HR (18-58). Red Sox are 24-10 in their last 34 home meetings with the Royals and the Royals are 22-56 in their last 78 road games vs. a LH starter. This is a big game for the Sox if they want to get back into the playoff talks this is the turning point with Ortiz coming back.
