Kansas City will try to be nasty hosts on Friday when the Boston Red Sox pay a visit to Kauffman Stadium.

Andrew Miller, with a record of 4-1 on the season, gets the ball for the Red Sox, while the Royals trot Jeff Francis to the mound in this one. He is 4-13 so far in 2011.



View Boston vs Kansas City Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
The Red Sox were listed as 120 favorites on the baseball moneyline at many online sportsbooks. The total was set at 10 before betting started earlier on Monday.

Power Rankings:
The Royals sit at No. 9 in the American League in the current MLB power poll here at Odds Shark, while the Red Sox sit at an American League No. 3 on the same chart.



How They Match Up:
At the plate, Kansas City owns the No. 3 ranking for hits in the American League at 9.3 per game. By contrast, the Red Sox are rated No. 2 in the same category at 9.7 per game.

Defensively, Boston features the American League's No. 2-rated defense on the road, allowing 3.7 runs per game. Kansas City, meanwhile, comes in at No. 7 in the American League at home, scoring 4.4 runs per game.

In their last action, Boston was a 4-3 Sportsbook on the road against the Royals. Bettors on Boston at -174 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (7) sent UNDER bettors home happy as well. The Red Sox grabbed a win last time out, defeating Luke Hochevar and the Royals 4-3 on Thursday at Kauffman Stadium.




Boston Red Sox Trends:
When playing on Friday are 6-4
Before playing Kansas City are 6-4
After playing Kansas City are 6-4
After a win are 5-5

Kansas City Royals Trends:
When playing on Friday are 6-4
Before playing Boston are 5-5
After playing Boston are 4-6
After a loss are 3-7

A few Red Sox at Royals trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 5 games
Boston is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Kansas City
Boston is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Kansas City
Boston is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Kansas City's last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Kansas City's last 10 games when playing at home against Boston
Kansas City is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games at home
Kansas City is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Boston


Next up:
Boston at Kansas City, Saturday, August 20