The Red Sox and Royals are stuck in a scoreless tie through the first three innings.
Jon Lester has done his job against the Royals so far, though his pitch count is a bit inflated due to circumstances outside his control. In the second, it was a booted grounder by Jed Lowrie that left him throwing eleven extra pitches to pick up his final out. And in the third, it was a blown strike three call that eventually led to a walk. All-together, Lester has nearly 60 pitches on his arm through the first three.
Meanwhile, Boston’s lineup has done a good job of dashing the hopes of Sox fans who thought their offense might just be back. After a leadoff walk from Marco Scutaro in the first, the Sox have put just one man man on base. Not only that, but Scutaro even managed to get caught stealing, and it wasn’t even close, as the shortstop ended up in a run down to end the first even though the pitch went through.
This is Danny Duffy they’re facing—one of the worst pitchers in the MLB, and they’re making him look like Jon Lester’s equal. It’s not something that should be happening.