Red Sox-Royals Preview

The fans at Kauffman Stadium will be treated to a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Kansas City Royals when they take their seats on Tuesday. The Red Sox will pin their hopes on the pitching of ace righthander Josh Beckett in this game. Beckett has a 9-8 record and a 4.15 ERA this season. The Royals will counter Beckett with Brian Bannister. Righthander Bannister has a 5.33 ERA to go along with a 7-9 record this season. NewBodog oddsmakers currently have the Red Sox listed as 170-moneyline favorites versus the Royals, while the game's total has not yet been posted. Alex Gordon went deep for a solo shot, as the Royals trimmed the Red Sox 4-3 on Monday night. Kansas City cashed as +100 home underdogs as the game played under the 9-run total set by sportsbooks. Mark Teahen went 2-for-4 with a run batted in for the Royals, while Gil Meche gave up two runs over six innings to get the win for Kansas City. Clay Buchholz allowed four runs over six innings to take the loss for Boston, as Dustin Pedroia was 3-for-4 for the Red Sox. Current streak: Kansas City has won 3 straight games. Team records: Boston: 64-49 SU Kansas City: 53-60 SU Boston most recently: When playing on Tuesday are 5-5 Before playing Kansas City are 7-3 After playing Kansas City are 5-5 After a loss are 5-5 Kansas City most recently: When playing on Tuesday are 1-9 Before playing Boston are 4-6 After playing Boston are 4-6 After a win are 6-4 A few trends to consider: The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 5 games when playing on the road against Kansas City The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 6 games on the road The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games when playing Kansas City Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Kansas City The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Kansas City's last 5 games when playing at home against Boston Kansas City is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Kansas City's last 13 games The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Kansas City's last 10 games at home Next up: Kansas City home to Boston, Wednesday, August 6