Fenway Park hosts an MLB battle between the Boston Red Sox and the visiting Kansas City Royals on Friday.

The match puts starter Bruce Chen for the Royals on the hill facing Jon Lester for the Red Sox. Chen brings a 9-10 mark to the game, while Lester is 7-10 to date on the season.



View Kansas City vs Boston Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
If you're going with the Red Sox in this one, they're listed as moneyline favorites of -185 on most baseball betting menus for Monday's contest.

Power Rankings:
It's a baseball betting matchup between the American League No. 8-rated Red Sox and the league No. 6-ranked Royals, according to the latest MLB power poll here at Odds Shark.



How They Match Up:
Rating these teams in several key categories is important for handicappers and Boston has the American League's No. 3-rated offensive output, at 9.3 hits per game. The Royals average 9.2 hits per game, good for No. 4 on the American League list.

Boston owns the American League's No. 11 defense, allowing 4.7 men per game to cross the plate. That contrasts with Kansas City's American League No. 8-rated defense.

Last time out for Kansas City, they were a 5-3 loser as they battled the Rays on the road. Moneyline bettors who got the Rays at -185 were rewarded, while the 8 combined runs moved the game OVER for totals bettors. The Royals endured a 5-3 loss at the hands of the Rays on Wednesday, with Luis Mendoza throwing 4 1/3 innings of 5-hit ball at Tropicana Field.

The Red Sox were a 14-13 loser in their most recent outing at home against the Angels. That made winners of bettors who got Los Angeles at -110 on the moneyline, while the total score (27) was good news for OVER bettors. Boston lost in extra innings against the Angels on Thursday as Los Angeles edged them 14-13 at Fenway Park.


Kansas City Royals Trends:
When playing on Friday are 1-9
Before playing Boston are 4-6
After playing Tampa Bay are 6-4
After a loss are 7-3

Boston Red Sox Trends:
When playing on Friday are 8-2
Before playing Kansas City are 5-5
After playing LA Angels are 4-6
After a loss are 4-6

A few Royals at Red Sox trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Kansas City's last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Kansas City's last 10 games on the road
Kansas City is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
Kansas City is 5-11 SU in its last 16 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games when playing at home against Kansas City
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games at home
Boston is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games
Boston is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games at home


Next up:
Kansas City at Boston, Saturday, August 25