The Red Sox get a visit from the Kansas City Royals in baseball action on Thursday, with the home side looking to send the visitors to the showers with a loss.

Kansas City puts its faith in starter Luke Hochevar to earn a win and boost his personal mark of 6-8. Getting the ball for the Red Sox is Josh Beckett, who owns a 9-3 record on the season with a 2.07 ERA.



View Kansas City vs Boston Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Sportsbooks had set the Red Sox as -300 favorites on the Sportsbook moneyline for this contest. The over under opened at 9 for bettors hoping to turn a profit on totals.

Power Rankings:
It's a baseball betting matchup between the American League No. 2-rated Red Sox and the league No. 10-ranked Royals, according to the latest MLB power poll here at Odds Shark.



How They Match Up:
Scoring stats point to some edges in this matchup. The game features Boston's American League No. 1-ranked scoring average of 5.6 runs per game, against a Royals offense rated No. 6 and scoring 4.4 runs per game in the league. The Red Sox have averaged 9.9 hits per game to date this season, more than the Royals hitters have managed (9.3 per nine innings).

Boston owns the American League's No. 7 defense, allowing 4.2 men per game to cross the plate. That contrasts with Kansas City's American League No. 13-rated defense.

In their last action, Kansas City was a 12-5 loser on the road against the Red Sox. Bettors on Boston at -192 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (17) sent OVER bettors home happy as well. The Royals were saddled with a loss last time out in Bruce Chen's start, as they lost 12-5 against Boston on Wednesday at Fenway Park.




Kansas City Royals Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 3-7
Before playing Cleveland are 1-9
After playing Boston are 2-8
After a loss are 5-5

Boston Red Sox Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 4-6
Before playing Chi White Sox are 2-8
After playing Kansas City are 7-3
After a win are 7-3

A few Royals at Red Sox trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Kansas City's last 12 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Kansas City's last 6 games on the road
Kansas City is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Kansas City is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Boston
Boston is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games at home
Boston is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Kansas City
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Kansas City


Next up:
Kansas City at Cleveland, Friday, July 29
Boston at Chi White Sox, Friday, July 29