Ranger Suarez has been dominant on the mound of late, but he needs some run support from his Boston Red Sox teammates.
Having not allowed a run in three straight starts, Suarez will aim to help the Red Sox to a second consecutive victory and a road-series win over the struggling Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.
Suarez (2-2, 2.44 ERA) has allowed eight hits and three walks and struck out 21 over 17 1/3 scoreless innings of his past three starts. The left-hander last yielded a run in the third inning of Boston’s 4-1 home loss to the New York Yankees on April 22 — a string of 19 consecutive scoreless frames overall.
“(It’s a good feeling) when you’re able to command all your pitches and throw (them) for strikes, and be able throw it how you want it,” said Suarez, who has a win and two no-decisions over his past three games.
“I think I felt very good (in) the last three starts.”
On Thursday against his former team, the Philadelphia Phillies, Suarez allowed four hits and a walk and struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings. However, the Red Sox fell 3-1 and have failed to score a run with Suarez on the mound in his past two starts.
In five of Suarez’s eight 2026 starts, his Boston teammates did not give him a run of support.
The Red Sox managed just three runs in the series opener on Monday, but it was enough for a 3-1 victory over the Royals. Willson Contreras hit a two-run homer for Boston, which has failed to score more than three times in any contest during its current 4-5 stretch.
“Whenever you can get the win, it’s great,” Boston catcher Connor Wong told WEEI radio.
Contreras is 4-for-11 with two home runs and four RBIs in the past three games. He’s batting .296 with five homers and 21 RBIs in 21 games vs. Kansas City.
The Royals got a pair of doubles from Jac Caglianone, the second of which drove home the club’s lone run of the night in the seventh inning Monday. Caglianone is 5-for-10 in the last three games for Kansas City, which has averaged 3.3 runs during its current 3-9 rut.
“Every night you play, it’s an opportunity to win a game. There’s always that sense of urgency,” Kansas City general manager J.J. Picollo said.
After the Royals announced that scheduled Tuesday starter Kris Bubic was placed on the injured list with elbow soreness, they’ll look at a bullpen game for this contest. Bailey Falter (0-0, 10.13 ERA), a longtime starter turned reliever, is expected to pitch first.
“We’ll certainly need somebody to step up (Tuesday),” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “You need depth, you need quality depth, and you need guys that are versatile. We think we have that.”
Falter, a left-hander, has made three career appearances (two starts) against Boston, going 1-2 with an 11.17 ERA.
Suarez has one career start against the Royals — on Aug. 24, 2024, in Kansas City. He allowed one run, four hits and a walk and struck out six over five innings in an 11-2 win for Philadelphia.
For Kansas City, Kyle Isbel is batting .304 during a six-game hitting streak.
–Field Level Media
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