Kansas City Royals vs Boston Red Sox Live Streaming

Kansas City Royals vs Boston Red Sox Live | Kansas City Royals vs Boston Red Sox | Kansas City Royals vs Boston Red Sox Streaming | Kansas City vs Boston MLB Live Stream | Kansas City Royals vs Boston Red Sox Live Webcast

7:10 pm EDT Thu May 27, 2010

Considering how the Boston Red Sox handled a stretch of games against four of the majors’ elite teams, facing the lowly Kansas City Royals at home appears to be a far simpler task. With Daisuke Matsuzaka on the mound for the first time since flirting with a no-hitter, the Red Sox hope to extend their longest winning streak of the season to six Thursday night as they begin a four-game set with the Royals. Not only has Boston played 11 of its last 13 games on the road, but its last four series were against the reigning World Series champion Yankees and division leaders Minnesota, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay. The Red Sox have still managed to win eight of nine and five in a row, putting their mediocre start behind them. They became the first team to sweep major league-best Tampa Bay this week, outscoring the host Rays 19-4 in three games.

David Ortiz and Adrian Beltre have keyed Boston’s run. Ortiz is 16 for 39 with six homers and 16 RBIs in his last 11 games, while Beltre has six multihit efforts in his last eight games, going 4 for 5 with two homers and six RBIs on Wednesday. The team’s starting pitching has been arguably even more impressive. Boston starters have a 1.60 ERA in the last eight games after posting a 5.18 ERA before that. Matsuzaka has allowed five or more runs three times since coming off the disabled list, but his other two outings have been brilliant.Saturday’s effort may have been the best of his career. He lost a no-hitter on Juan Castro’s bloop single with two outs in the eighth inning of a 5-0 win at Philadelphia. Matsuzaka struck out 10 Royals in his major league debut April 5, 2007, a total that still matches his career high. He’s posted a 2.84 ERA while winning both of his starts against Kansas City. The Royals have been surprisingly good on offense this season, leading the majors with a .280 batting average - thanks in part to Billy Butler.

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New York Yankees vs Minnesota Twins Live Streaming

New York Yankees vs Minnesota Twins Live | New York Yankees vs Minnesota Twins | New York Yankees vs Minnesota Twins Streaming | NY Yankees vs Minnesota MLB Live Stream | New York Yankees vs Minnesota Twins Live Webcast

8:10 pm EDT Thu May 27, 2010

The New York Yankees are becoming accustomed to getting strong pitching at Minnesota. Javier Vazquez, though, hasn’t been as fortunate. With a chance to sweep their first series at Target Field, the Yankees hope Vazquez can end his struggles in road games against the Twins on Thursday night. New York earned two victories over Minnesota on Wednesday, winning 1-0 to complete a contest that was halted by rain the night before, then getting a homer from Nick Swisher in the top of the ninth to take the series’ middle game 3-2. The Yankees also got a clutch homer in the first game, with Derek Jeter going deep while adding a highlight-reel play at shortstop that saved at least one run. But pitching continues to lead the way for them in Minnesota. New York has posted a 1.83 ERA in winning six straight road games against the Twins, including one contest en route to sweeping last year’s divisional series matchup.

Matching up with Yankees pitching has only extended Minnesota’s woes at the plate. The Twins have lost three straight and six of eight, scoring three runs or fewer in each of the defeats. New York had lost 10 of 15 prior to this series and has a chance to win three in a row for the first time since a six-game run from May 2-8, but Vazquez’s struggles in road games against Minnesota could end its momentum. Vazquez is 1-5 with a 6.21 ERA in seven starts at Minnesota. In two outings there with the Yankees, he’s 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA. The veteran right-hander, though, appears to be settling down following a terrible start, going 1-1 with a 1.38 ERA over his last two outings. He is coming off his best performance of the season, allowing one hit and striking out six in six shutout innings of a 2-1 win over the Mets on Friday night.

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