Red Sox Defeat Royals 5-0 with Crawford's Gem

Kutter Crawford led the Boston Red Sox to a 5-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals, delivering seven-plus scoreless innings and allowing just two hits while striking out four. This performance marked Crawford's second consecutive seven-inning scoreless outing and extended his streak to 16 scoreless innings. Rafael Devers hit his 22nd home run of the season, surpassing Jason Varitek for the 11th-most homers in Red Sox history, and contributed to the offensive surge alongside Dominic Smith, who had two hits and two RBIs. Kansas City's starting pitcher, Seth Lugo, struggled, giving up five runs on 10 hits over five innings, ending the Royals' four-game winning streak. The win gave Boston a one-game lead over Kansas City for the final wild-card spot in the American League standings.