KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Interstat) — Jarren Duran hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium. Boston (22-27) took a 2-0 lead in the second on Nick Sogard’s RBI single and a run-scoring double play grounder. The Royals (20-30) answered in the fifth when Elias Díaz hit a two-run homer, scoring Starling Marte. After Salvador Perez singled and later scored on a groundout, the game remained tied until Duran’s blast to left field drove in Carlos Narváez. Connelly Early (4-2) earned the win, allowing three runs on six hits over 6 1/3 innings with five strikeouts. Steven Cruz (0-2) took the loss. Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless ninth for his 12th save, striking out one. Michael Wacha started for Kansas City and struck out eight over six innings, allowing one earned run on six hits. Perez had three hits, including a home run, and Díaz also homered. Willson Contreras collected three hits for Boston. The Red Sox outhit the Royals 11-8. Attendance was 14,091, and the game lasted 2 hours, 48 minutes.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Interstat) — Connelly Early pitched six strong innings and Jarren Duran drove in three runs, including a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh inning, as the Boston Red Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 4-3 on Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium. Early allowed three runs on five hits and one walk while striking out seven to improve to 4-2. Aroldis Chapman earned his 12th save with a scoreless ninth inning. Steven Cruz took the loss, falling to 0-2 after allowing two runs on three hits in one inning of relief. The game drew an announced crowd of 14,091 and lasted 2 hours, 48 minutes. The Red Sox improved to 22-27 with their third consecutive win in the series after a 7-1 victory Tuesday and a 3-1 win Monday. The Royals dropped to 20-30. Boston struck first in the second inning against Royals starter Michael Wacha. Willson Contreras led off with a triple to right field. Ceddanne Rafaela reached on a fielding error by second baseman Nick Loftin, putting runners at the corners. Nick Sogard singled to right field, scoring Contreras and advancing Rafaela to third. After a walk to Marcelo Mayer loaded the bases, Carlos Narváez grounded into a double play that allowed Rafaela to score, giving the Red Sox a 2-0 lead. Kansas City had taken an early lead in the first inning. Salvador Perez hit a solo home run, his eighth of the season, to left field off Early, cutting the deficit to 2-1. The Royals tied the game in the fifth inning. Starling Marte drew a leadoff walk, and Elias Díaz followed with a two-run homer to left-center field, his second of the year, putting Kansas City ahead 3-2. Boston reclaimed the lead in the seventh. Carlos Narváez led off with a single to left field. Mickey Gasper struck out, but Duran launched a two-run homer to left field, his sixth of the season, scoring Narváez and giving the Red Sox a 4-3 advantage. The Royals threatened in the bottom of the ninth against Chapman. Starling Marte reached on a pop-up single that deflected off first baseman Willson Contreras. Carter Jensen struck out but Marte advanced to second on a passed ball. Lane Thomas flied out to right field, and Maikel Garcia grounded out to third base to end the game. Duran finished 2 for 5 with a triple, a home run and three RBIs. Contreras went 3 for 4 with a triple and a run scored. Narváez added two hits and scored twice. For Kansas City, Perez had two hits, including the solo homer, and Díaz drove in two runs with his home run. Bobby Witt Jr. doubled in the third inning and finished 1 for 4. Jac Caglianone collected two singles. Wacha worked six innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on eight hits with three strikeouts and one walk. Cruz entered in the seventh and surrendered Duran’s homer. Chapman allowed one hit and struck out one in the ninth. The game turned in the seventh when Duran, with one out and Narváez on first, drove a 1-2 pitch from Cruz over the left-field wall. The blast erased a 3-2 deficit and proved decisive after the Royals had rallied from an early two-run hole. Boston’s victory capped a three-game sweep of the Royals and gave the Red Sox their fourth win in the past five games. Kansas City, which had won five of its previous seven, dropped its second straight. Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Boston 4, Kansas City 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave Boston a 51.20 percent probability to win. The Red Sox were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of 7 runs went over the over-under line of 8.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Interstat) — The Boston Red Sox aim for a third consecutive win against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at Kauffman Stadium. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. CDT under cloudy skies and a temperature of 54 degrees. Boston (20-27) enters with momentum after taking the first two games of this four-game series, winning 3-1 on Monday and 2-1 on Tuesday. The Red Sox have won five of their last seven overall. Kansas City (20-28) has dropped three straight and six of its last seven. The Red Sox will start left-hander Connelly Early (3-2, 4.15 ERA) or right-hander Michael Wacha (4-2, 3.60 ERA). Early has not faced Kansas City this season. Wacha is 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA in two career starts against the Royals. The Royals counter with right-hander Seth Lugo (2-3, 5.40 ERA). Lugo started Monday’s 3-1 loss to Boston, allowing two runs on five hits over six innings with five strikeouts. He has lost his last three starts, surrendering 11 earned runs over 15 innings in that span. Players to watch: Red Sox right-hander Sonny Gray has been dominant in his last three starts, all wins. He threw six innings of one-run ball against Kansas City on Monday, scattering five hits and striking out nine. Over his last three outings, Gray has a 0.53 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 17 innings. Royals right fielder Jac Caglianone went 2-for-4 with an RBI in Monday’s loss. He is hitting .286 over his last 10 games. Series history: Boston has won four of the last five meetings between the clubs dating to 2025. The Red Sox have held Kansas City to three runs or fewer in each of the last four matchups. Betting line: Boston is a -1.5 run-line favorite. The over/under is 8. The Interstat game simulator projects a 4-3 Red Sox victory. Upcoming: Boston returns home Friday to begin a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins. Kansas City opens a three-game home series Friday against the Seattle Mariners.