Pedroia gets hits 11 straight at-bats, fall 1 shy of record

With the series knotted at a game apiece, today’s rubber match affords the World Champion Kansas City Royals the opportunity to close the gap in both the division and the Wild Card picture. The Royals would add two more runs before Robbie Ross Jr. finally got out of the inning.

And they are getting contributions from up and down the roster.

Boston Red Sox’s Dustin Pedroia hits a single during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals in Boston, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016. Perez led the inning off with a solo shot – his third of the past two games – and Orlando hit a sac fly later in the inning to put the Royals up 2-0.

Salvador Perez hit two solo homers for the Royals, who lost for just the fourth time 20 games. They also gained a game on Cleveland to pull within 5.5 of the top spot in the AL Central.

“We never quit or put our heads down”, Mondesi said. “And then the rest of the team kept playing”. The Rays, who are buried in last place in the AL East, salvaged the finale of their three-game set at Houston on Sunday as a 15-hit attack helped support a 10-strikeout performance by Chris Archer in a 10-4 victory.TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FSN Sun (Tampa Bay), NESN (Boston) PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays RH Matt Andriese (6-5, 3.71 ERA) vs. His Sunday Night Baseball accomplishments are detailed here, but it hasn’t just been Sunday evening prowess that’s propelling him. Ventura permitted four runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings.

Pedroia would get the opportunity to make history in the bottom of the eighth, only to ground into an inning-ending double-play. Yordano Ventura takes the mound for Kansas City; Eduardo Rodriguez gets the start for Boston. Robert Gsellman makes his first major league start for the Mets.

“That one is on me”, Barnes said. This is a good game for Price who has really been strong the last few games mixing his pitches well and showing improving chemistry with Sandy Leon at catcher. The righty hasn’t pitched in the majors since July 24, and he didn’t go deeper than four innings in any of his first three outings. Chad Bettis (10-7, 5.29) starts against the Nats for the second time this month – he allowed two runs in three innings on August 16. Edwin Encarnacion homered and drove in three runs as Toronto handed the Twins their ninth consecutive loss.

It was Ortiz’s 49th extra-base hit at Fenway this season. The pair matched up last Wednesday in St. Petersburg. Neither Andriese nor Porcello, 3-0 against the Rays this season, got a decision in the Rays’ win.