Two of MLB's more surprising contenders this season, the first-place Boston Red Sox (70-47) and the Kansas City Royals (59-53) will square off for Game 2 of a four-game series tonight at Kauffman Stadium at 8:05 p.m. The game can be live streamed here; Red Sox fans can hear the radio broadcast on WEEI 93.7 while Royals fans should turn their dials to KCSP 610.
The Red Sox will send new acquisition Jake Peavy (9-4, 4.14 ERA) to the mound to face the red-hot Royals. Peavy sparkled in his Boston debut, tossing seven innings of four-hit, two-run baseball against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Red Sox manager John Farrell was thrilled by Peavy's outing, saying "Outstanding debut for us. He was effective, as advertised." Peavy could play a central role in helping Boston cling to their AL East lead while they wait for ace Clay Buchholz to recover from a neck issue.
Running contrary to Kansas City's history, this edition of the Royals seems to be getting stronger as the year wears on. They entered the All-Star break on a low, dropping five consecutive games. Since the break, however, Kansas City has won six straight series, and is a very pretty 8-2 in their last 10 games.
They will have Ervin Santana (8-6, 2.47 ERA) on the mound, who is 4-3 with a 3.98 ERA against the Red Sox in his career. After a disastrous 2012, Santana has gotten his wildness under control, walking more than a batter fewer per nine innings than he did last year.
Santana's long been considered an MLB enigma; a talented pitcher with ace-quality stuff but subpar consistency. Santana's been consistently excellent in 2013, though, and he believes he's found the formula to success.
"Keep the ball down, throw strikes, and that's it," he said. "That's what I know I can do."
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