Carter Jensen arrives at Fenway Park on Friday night with a 14-game hitting streak and no apparent interest in accommodating a Boston Red Sox team that just lost two of three to the Los Angeles Angels. The Royals catcher has spent the past two weeks punishing pitchers who miss their spots, and the Red Sox, who begin the series at 80-67, now have to figure out how to stop him before worrying about anything else.
The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET, and the math is simple. Boston allowed the Angels to win consecutive games for the first time in nearly a month. Kansas City, with Jensen swinging the way he is, looks like a far less forgiving opponent.
Jensen's streak has not been built on power alone. He has shown an ability to adjust mid-at-bat, to use the whole field and to find production even when pitchers try to work around his preferred zones. That makes him hard to game-plan against with a single approach. The Red Sox cannot just decide to pitch him one way and expect results.
The real test for Boston's staff is execution ahead in the count. Falling behind Jensen gives him the luxury of being selective, waiting for a pitch he can drive rather than chasing something marginal. The Red Sox also have to keep the hitters in front of him off the bases. Constant traffic means constant RBI chances, and Jensen has shown he will cash them in.
Those exact details became a problem against Los Angeles. Jake Bennett surrendered three home runs on Wednesday, with Zach Neto and Jose Siri doing their damage after other Angels had reached base. One mistake turned into multiple runs, and the game slipped away. Kansas City will try to create that same kind of pressure, and the Red Sox know it.
The Royals series is another chance for Boston to firm up its postseason standing before the schedule turns more demanding. The Red Sox remain in a favorable wild-card position, but the New York Yankees' recent sweep of Colorado has stretched the gap between the two teams. Boston cannot assume its cushion will hold on its own. Winning at Fenway is the clearest way to protect it.
There were signs of offensive life on Wednesday. Roman Anthony and Wilyer Abreu both homered, and the Red Sox brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning. That urgency, though, arrived late. Against Kansas City, it has to be there from the first pitch, because Jensen and the Royals are not going to wait for Boston to wake up.
Jensen's streak gives the series a recognizable storyline, the kind of individual run that draws attention and shifts how a pitching staff approaches a lineup. For the Red Sox, the larger issue is avoiding another series loss to a beatable opponent at home. The Angels just showed what can happen when Boston fails to execute early. The Royals are better positioned to make them pay for it.
According to Yahoo Sports.