Boston Red Sox vs. Kansas City Royals MLB Betting Preview | September 16

The Boston Red Sox (69-74) host the Kansas City Royals (57-86) on Friday at 7:10 PM ET in a matchup between two teams on losing streaks. The favored Red Sox (-206) have fallen in two games in a row, while the underdog Royals (+172) have lost their last three. Michael Wacha starts for Boston while Kansas City will counter with Jonathan Heasley.

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Game Info, Betting Lines for Red Sox vs. Royals

• Game Day: Friday, September 16, 2022
• Game Time: 7:10 PM ET
• Location: Boston, Massachusetts
• Stadium: Fenway Park

Red Sox Stats & Trends

Red Sox Batting

• The Red Sox average 1.0 home run per game to rank 20th in MLB action with 136 total home runs .
• The Red Sox have the fourth-best batting average in the majors (.259).
• The Red Sox are sixth in the league with an on-base percentage of .320.
• The Red Sox’s 8.6 strikeouts per game rank 18th in baseball.
• The Red Sox have hit 77 home runs at home this season (1.1 per game).
• The Red Sox have a .439 slugging percentage and are averaging 3.5 extra-base hits per game at home.
• The club is batting .268 with 652 hits (9.2 per game) at home this season.

Red Sox Key Batters

• Rafael Devers has 142 hits, which ranks first among Boston hitters this season, while batting .287 with 65 extra-base hits.
• Among the qualified batters in MLB, Devers’ batting average ranks 24th, his on-base percentage ranks 37th, and he is 10th in slugging.
• Xander Bogaerts leads the Red Sox with an OPS of .858. He has a slash line of .317/.384/.474 this season.
• Among all qualified batters, Bogaerts is fifth in batting average, eighth in on-base percentage and 26th in slugging percentage.
• Bogaerts brings a five-game streak with at least one hit into this one. In his last five games he is hitting .368 with two home runs, two walks and four RBI.
• Alex Verdugo has collected 151 base hits, an OBP of .332 and a slugging percentage of .404 this season.
• Tommy Pham has been key for Boston with 121 hits, an OBP of .320 plus a slugging percentage of .385.

Royals Stats & Trends

Royals Batting

• The Royals rank 27th in Major League Baseball with just 121 home runs as a team.
• The Royals rank 16th in MLB with a .241 team batting average.
• The Royals have the 23rd-ranked on-base percentage in MLB this season (.305).
• The Royals are one of the most disciplined teams at the plate this season, ranking 10th with an average of 8.0 strikeouts per game.
• They’ve hit 63 homers, an average of 0.9 per game, in 69 road contests this season.
• In 69 road games this season, they’re slugging .361 with 172 hits going for extra bases.
• In away games this season, they’re batting .227 with 7.7 base hits per contest.

Royals Key Batters

• Bobby Witt Jr. has accumulated a slugging percentage of .438 and has 128 hits, both team-best numbers for the Royals.
• Including all the qualifying hitters in the majors, Witt Jr.’s batting average ranks 85th, his on-base percentage is 126th, and he is 59th in slugging.
• Salvador Perez is hitting .245 with 18 doubles, a triple, 21 home runs and 15 walks.
• MJ Melendez a has .315 on-base percentage to lead the Royals.
• Michael A. Taylor is batting .267 with nine doubles, three triples, nine home runs and 34 walks.

Red Sox vs. Royals Probable Pitchers