Regeln » Diamondbacks: RHP Clay Buchholz

KANSAS CITY Nate Davis Jersey , Mo. — The Boston Red Sox and the Kansas City Royals, two diametrically opposite clubs, meet in a three-game series beginning Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.

To say they are polar extremes would not be an exaggeration.

The Red Sox own the best record in the majors at 59-29. They have won eight of their past 10 and 10 of their past 13. They are 30 games over .500 for the first since they ended the 2013 season 32 games above.

Boston leads the American League with 463 runs and has outscored its opponents by 130 runs.

On the flip side, the Royals have lost six straight, 18 of 21 and 25 of 30. They are 25-61 and are 36 games below .500 for the first time since ending the 2006 season 62-100.

Kansas City ranks last in the American League with 297 runs and has been outscored by 167 runs.

“We didn’t have opportunities to manufacture runs,” manager Ned Yost told reporters after Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians. “We had opportunities with runners in scoring position that we couldn’t capitalize on. And that’s been a major problem for us all year long.”

The Red Sox are 31-17 on the road. The Royals have lost 12 of their last 13 games at Kauffman Stadium and their 11-32 home record is the worst in the majors.

The Royals have not scored more than four runs in 25 of their last 26 games. They have failed to collect double-figure hits in 25 of their last 26 games and are batting .191 with 55 runs in that stretch.

And who do the Royals face in the opener of this series?

None other than dominant left-hander Chris Sale, who leads the American League with 164 strikeouts and is averaging 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings. Opponents own a .179 batting average versus Sale (8-4, 2.41 ERA).

“He looks like the best pitcher in the big leagues right now,” Boston manager Alex Cora said.

Sale, who ranks among the league leaders in overall ERA, owns a 2.32 road ERA and a 2.45 night ERA. He enters the game having not allowed a run in his past 15 innings. Sale is 3-1 with a 1.03 ERA in his past five starts after striking out and allowing a first-inning single to Giancarlo Stanton in seven dominant innings in an 11-0 win at Yankee Stadium over the New York Yankees on Saturday.

“He was outstanding again,” Cora said. “Fastball command and off-speed pitches Tytus Howard Jersey , it was a great performance.”

Sale is 10-10 with a 2.92 ERA in 33 career appearances, 22 starts, against Kansas City. He held the Royals to two runs and five hits while walking two and striking out six over seven innings in a no-decision on May 1 at Fenway Park. Sale is 2-0 with a 2.87 ERA in his last four starts in Kansas City, striking out 34 and walking five.

The Royals will counter with right-hander Jason Hammel, who is 2-10 with a 5.56 ERA. He is tied for the AL lead in losses and has yielded 15 runs in his last two starts. He is 0-5 with a 4.33 ERA in seven home starts this season.

Against the Red Sox, Hammel is 3-4 with a 5.13 ERA in 16 career appearances, nine of them starts. He dropped a 10-6 decision on April 30 to Boston, allowing eight runs on eight hits, including a pair of home runs, and three walks over 4 2/3 innings.

While Sale was the AL Pitcher of the Month for June, Hammel went 0-5 with a 6.43 ERA in six starts last month after ending May with back-to-back victories.

Hammel’s biggest challenge will be Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez. They rank 1-2 in the majors in slugging percentage with Betts at .669 and Martinez .642.

Betts has 21 home runs and a .338 batting average. Martinez is hitting .327 with a major league-best 26 home runs, which is more than any Boston player hit in 2017.

Betts also hit three homers at Fenway Park on May 2 and went 4-for-4 in that game.

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo had quite the dilemma when the game was stopped by rain for the second time in the middle of the fourth inning.

When the showers subsided Gary Jennings Jr. Jersey , Lovullo gave the ball back to Zack Greinke, and the ace right-hander delivered.

Greinke pitched six scoreless innings, Paul Goldschmidt homered and the Diamondbacks beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2 on Saturday for their third consecutive win.

”We were having debates in here whether we should send Zack out or not,” Lovullo said. ”He said he felt great and he wanted to keep pitching. Just felt like we had to do the right thing and take him off the mound, but he saved us today. He did a great job.”

David Peralta had two hits and two RBIs for NL West-leading Arizona. Goldschmidt also walked twice and scored three times.

Greinke (7-5) allowed two hits, struck out seven and walked none. He also doubled and scored on Jon Jay’s double in the fourth.

The Pirates hit just four balls out of the infield against Greinke, who had never before stayed in through two rain delays. They combined to halt play for 1 hour, 21 minutes.

”Didn’t really know how to respond,” he said. ”Told Torey if it feels terrible, I’d let them know. It wasn’t too bad.”

Greinke’s extra-slow curveball was especially effective. Sitting around 69 mph at a big separation from his 89 mph fastball, it accounted for four of his strikeouts.

”It’s obviously a weapon that slows the hitters down because it’s such a slow pitch,” Arizona catcher Jeff Mathis said. “He has a good feel for it too. He’s always looking for an opportunity to drop it in there.”

Arizona grabbed control with five runs in the first four innings against Joe Musgrove (2-3).

Goldschmidt walked and scored on Peralta’s triple in the first. Peralta then scored when Sean Rodriguez’s relay throw landed in the Pirates’ dugout.

The duo combined for another run in the third when Goldschmidt walked again and scored on Peralta’s double. Chris Owings singled in Jake Lamb to make it 4-0.

”If I can’t control the inner half to the lefties Ugo Amadi Jersey , it’s a tough day for me to get them out,” Musgrove said. ”It showed today.”

Goldschmidt hit his 17th homer in the seventh, and Lamb added an RBI single in the ninth.

Musgrove’s day ended with the second rain stoppage. He allowed seven hits, struck out two and walked three.

ROUGH DAY

Rodriguez went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in addition to his error on his bobblehead day. He is hitting .149 on the season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Diamondbacks: LHP Robbie Ray (strained right oblique) will make his third rehab start on Monday.

Pirates: C Francisco Cervelli, already on the seven-day disabled list, has been diagnosed with a concussion. There is no timeframe for his return. … LF Corey Dickerson returned from the Family Medical Emergency Leave List and started. INF/OF Adam Frazier was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.

UP NEXT

Diamondbacks: RHP Clay Buchholz (1-1, 2.94 ERA) is expected to start the series finale on Sunday. In three starts on the road, he has a 2.12 ERA and is holding opponents to a .180 batting average.

Pirates: RHP Trevor Williams (6-4, 4.00 ERA) is coming off one of his best outings of the season, when he struck out seven over seven one-hit innings Monday against Milwaukee.