KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — James Paxton pitched six solid innings, Masataka Yoshida tied his career high with four of Boston’s 18 hits and the Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 9-5 on Monday night.
Boston, which has won four of its last five, now trails the Royals by 1 1/2 games for the final American League wild card spot.
“It was a humble approach,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “We hit the ball all over the place. We ran the bases well. The kids did a great job in the bottom of the lineup.
“We just kept putting pressure on them. They have a good team; it took a lot. But give our guys credit, they showed up today and did their job. Now we have to win the series, either tomorrow or the next day.”
Paxton (9-3) allowed two runs on five hits to pick up his …