Red Sox Becoming Major Thorn In Royals' Side After 6th-Straight Series Win
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The Kansas City Royals couldn't have been flying higher than they were on Friday night. But by Sunday afternoon, the tides had shifted a bit.
After a walk-off win over the Boston Red Sox in the 12th inning of Friday night's game, the Royals were defeated 10-1 and 3-1 for their first series loss since Apr. 17-20 against the Detroit Tigers. But another trend continued, and it's not a positive one for Kansas City.
This was the Royals' sixth-straight series loss to the Red Sox, dating back to September of 2022. And the Red Sox, who haven't been a playoff team since 2021, could be a team that matters a lot to the Royals this season.
Boston, though they're only 22-20 to this point, has the firepower to make a playoff run, and the Royals could very well be contending with them for one of the final few playoff spots.
The two teams will meet again Aug. 4-6 in Boston, and that will be a series with major implications. If the Royals lose their seventh-straight series to the Red Sox, they'll also lose the tiebreaker in the playoff standings.
The Royals were awful in 2023, so losing five of seven to the Red Sox was no worse than anything else they did that season. But the two series losses last summer, including one in August at home when both teams were in the playoff race, could easily have come back to haunt Kansas City.
Fortunately, Boston's bullpen imploded and the Royals wound up finishing five games ahead of the Red Sox in the standings. But there's no guarantee they'll be as lucky this time around.
The Royals have gotten to where they are as a team by beating up on the bad teams and treading water against the good ones. If they want to get to the next level, though, they've got to start beating the good ones.
Sure, it's only May. But every series from here on out against a playoff-caliber team matters.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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