Kansas City Royals pitchers were hung up to dry, as a barrage of Boston Red Sox hits ultimately paid off for the visitors in a 9-5 Royals loss at Kauffman Stadium on Monday night.

Boston got on the board first with two runs in the second inning off a David Hamilton double and fielder’s choice groundout by Jarren Duran. The Royals tied it with RBI singles from Bobby Witt Jr in the third and Freddy Fermin in the fourth, but the Red Sox continued plying the pressure, ultimately chasing starter Brady Singer out of the game after he gave up an RBI double to Duran that made the score 4-2. They also got to reliever Angel Zerpa, who allowed four runs in the seventh without recording an out. The Royals attempted to stage a comeback, scoring twice in the seventh off doubles and a home run in the eighth from Vinnie Pasquantino, but Boston picked up an insurance run in the top of the eighth.

Boston recorded 18 hits in the game, going 6-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Singer ended up with the loss, going 5.2 innings with four earned runs on ten hits and one walk, while striking out six. Boston’s James Paxton picked up his ninth win of the season.

The Royals are 63-51, a game-and-a-half ahead of Boston for the third wild card spot. They remain five games behind Cleveland in the AL Central, as the Guardians are in the midst of a three-game losing streak. Game two of the homestand against Boston is Tuesday evening. Because of our primary election coverage, tonight’s game will air on KMMO AM 1300, with pregame at 6:30 p.m. and first pitch at 7:10 p.m.