Red Sox 4, Royals 3

 

Sweet! A sweep! The lowly Boston Red Sox entered this three-game road series a half-game back from the Royals in the Wild Card standings, and leave Kansas City 2½ games ahead of them. 

Nick Sogard, back up from the minors to replace an injured Roman Anthony, hit an RBI single in the first inning, and Carlos Narváez hit into a double play that same inning but still managed to score Ceddanne Rafaela. 

Jarren Duran, who hit a two-run homer in the ninth on Tuesday night, hit another two-run homer last night in the seventh, launching the ball 383 feet into deep left center. Duran has a double, a triple, and two homers in this series, and also stole a base, becoming the 11th player to reach 35 career triples and 100 stolen bases in Red Sox history, and the first to do so since Carl Yastrzemski. He also singlehandedly saved the game last night with an incredible leaping catch in foul territory in the bottom of that same seventh inning in which he hit the home run. 

Young Connelly Early picked up his fourth win of the season. He went 6⅓ innings with five K's and three runs on six hits and only one walk. The bullpen shut out the Royals with three more K's and Chapman got his 12th save of the season. 

This is a miserable season but it's hard not to feel good right now. The Sox improve to 22-27 with three straight wins and the second series sweep of the season. The Rays and the Jays both won last night so Boston is still tied with Toronto for third place in the AL East, 11½  back from Tampa Bay (but at least the Yankees lost last night). Texas, the latest team to cling to the third and final Wild Card spot, also won, so the Sox are still tied with the Jays at two games back in the Wild Card standings.

More reasons to be cheerful: the Sox are off today, but their next series is back home in Fenway against the Minnesota Twins (23-27), another team like Kansas City entering the series a mere half game ahead of them in the standings. This is another fortunate matchup, one we can win, even though the Sox are 1-2 against the Twins so far this season. Payton Tolle (2-2, 2.05) will start tomorrow against rookie Connor Prielipp (1-2, 2.88). Neither pitcher played in last month's series in Minneapolis and neither has ever faced tomorrow's opposing teams. 

Can the Sox make it four straight for the first time this season? They will be returning to Fenway on a three-game winning streak in front of a friendly (hopefully) home crowd to play a team almost as pathetic as they are, and are starting the series with one of their best pitchers. They have a chance, and while it may not be all "field of dreams," highlight-reel material, we should still be excited.