Bobby Witt Jr. was the catalyst for the Royals’ only run in the third. He connected on a one-out single, stole second, moved to third on a balk, then scored when Canha’s blooper plopped out of Boston second baseman Kristian Campbell’s glove when he stabbed for a backhanded attempt in short right.

Lugo started twice against the Red Sox last season. In those two starts, he went 5 innings, giving up 10 hits and 5 runs while striking out 6. In his other start against them, he went 5.1 innings, gave up 6 runs (4 earned), and 6 hits while striking out 4. So, the Red seemingly had Lugo’s number, hopefully that changes this afternoon.