Red Sox vs Royals Prediction - MLB Picks 9/1/23

Kansas City Royals (41-94) vs Boston Red Sox (69-65)

Game Info: Friday, September 1, 2023 at 8:10 pm (Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium)

Jordan Lyles (3-15) (6.39) vs James Paxton (7-4) (3.99)

Betting Odds: Kansas City Royals +169 / Boston Red Sox -200 --- Over/Under: 9.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds

The Kansas City Royals will host the Boston Red Sox for game one of their weekend series this Friday from Kauffman Stadium.

Red Sox Preview & Projected Starter

Boston moved to 69-65 after being swept by Houston. The Red Sox were blitzed at home by the Astros, and they’ll look to let off some steam in Kansas City this weekend. The Boston offense is 4.18 scoring runs per game, while batting .264, with a .331 on-base percentage. The pitching staff carries a 4.89 ERA, with a 1.34 WHIP.

James Paxton (7-4, 3.99 ERA, 101 Ks) will take the bump for Boston. The veteran lefty struggled with the Dodgers at home last week, allowing four runs in just 4.1 innings pitched. That marked back-to-back tough outings for Paxton, who in his defense had to face LAD and Houston, and this spot against KC could give him a chance to turn things around. Paxton tossed 5.1 scoreless innings versus the Royals four weeks ago, and he’ll attempt to replicate that effort here on the road.

Red Sox Player Trends & Props

• Rafael Devers plated a run in the game three loss to Houston, and he’s first on the team in HR (29) and RBI (89).

• Justin Turner has produced a run in seven of the previous ten games, and he’s posting strong splits of .287/22/87, with 133 hits.

• Masataka Yoshida had three hits in the game one defeat, and he leads the Sox in hits (134), with splits of .295/13/62.

Royals Preview & Projected Starter

Kansas City comes in at 41-94 after being swept by Pittsburgh. The Royals failed to show up versus the Bucs this week, and they’ll look to avoid a seventh straight loss here. The Kansas City offense is scoring 3.62 runs per game, while batting .233, with a .293 on-base percentage. The pitching staff carries a 5.25 ERA, with a 1.43 WHIP.

Jordan Lyles (3-15, 6.51 ERA, 97 Ks) will take the mound for Kansas City. The veteran pitcher didn’t fare well in Seattle last time out, allowing seven runs in three innings to take his 15th loss of the season. Lyles ran into a hot Mariners team last time out, and after extending his league-lead in losses, he’ll attempt to avoid another defeat to the Red Sox here. Lykes went eight innings in Boston last month, but he gave up four runs and took the losing decision.

Royals Player Trends & Props

• Bobby Witt Jr. homered in the game three loss, and he leads KC in hits (148), home runs (27) and RBI (82).

• Maikel Garcia has collected a hit in six of the previous nine games, and he leads the Royals in batting (.277), with 44 RBI.

• Salvador Perez is second on the team with 19 homers and 57 RBI.

• MJ Melendez has tallied a hit in seven of the last ten games, and he’s posting splits of .231/12/44.

Corey’s Free Pick

Kansas City appears to be coasting to the finish line at this point, and not in a positive way, while Boston comes in needing to bounce back if they’d like to stay alive in the playoff race. The Red Sox aren’t out of the AL Wild Card race, but the winning needs to start now if they’d like to steal one of the final two spots. After dropping four straight contests, let’s back Boston to capitalize and come out strong here Friday.