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Red Sox-Royals Preview

Sep 21, 2009 - 1:32 AM Boston (88-59) at Kansas City (60-88), 8:10 p.m. EDT

It is often said good hitting and good pitching are contagious. The Red Sox already have the good hitting down pat, and they're hoping Tim Wakefield can add to the run of good pitching against the Kansas City Royals on Monday.

Boston (89-59) has won 10 of 11 as it zeroes in on the wild-card spot with its offense and pitching clicking. The Red Sox have averaged 6.5 runs while batting .323 with 18 homers in the last 11 games, while their starters have gone 7-0 with a 2.23 ERA - conceding 17 runs in 68 2-3 innings.

"It's amazing how, when pitching is consistent, everything else seems to have a way of working, even when the bats aren't maybe alive," manager Terry Francona said after Sunday's 9-3 victory over Baltimore capped a three-game sweep. "It certainly gives you a chance every night to be a good team."

Jason Bay and Jacoby Ellsbury each homered and drove in three runs Sunday, while Victor Martinez extended his career-best hitting streak to 19 games. Bay tied a career high with his 35th homer and set a new personal best with 110 RBIs despite recovering from flu-like symptoms that sidelined him Saturday and most of Friday.

"I got an IV before the game. It picked me up a little bit," said Bay, who is hitting .375 with four homers and 10 RBIs his last seven games. "I haven't been able to drink much, so the energy level was a little low. It felt a lot better today."

Wakefield (11-4, 4.22) is hoping for similar offensive support as he makes his first start since Sept. 5. The 43-year-old right-hander missed nearly two months with a strained back, and that ailment has created a strength deficiency in his legs and limited him to two starts since the All-Star break.

The knuckleballer, though, was able to throw approximately 40 pitches in a bullpen session Friday, making him a go for this contest.

"If his strength was down, he wouldn't have been able to go through the (bullpen session)," Francona said.

Wakefield is 11-6 with a 3.79 ERA in 18 starts and 25 lifetime appearances versus the Royals, whom he has not faced since 2008.

Kansas City (61-88) has won four consecutive series to move into a tie for fourth in the AL Central with flagging Cleveland. The Royals capped a nine-game road trip at 6-3 by taking two of three games at Chicago, including a 2-1 victory Sunday, when Robinson Tejeda won his third straight start.

Lenny DiNardo (0-1, 5.23), originally a Rule 5 draft pick by the Red Sox in 2003 who played for them from 2004-06, makes his third start for Kansas City since being called up earlier this month. He went 0-1 in two starts against Detroit in a six-day span, and the Tigers reached him for four runs and nine hits in 5 1-3 innings of a 4-3 defeat Wednesday.

The left-hander, however, was pleased with throwing 75 of his 104 pitches for strikes.

"That's the key for me. I've got to go out there and pump the strike zone," DiNardo told the Royals' official Web site. "I can't go dilly-dallyin', throwing balls and walking people all the time, or I'm really getting in trouble."

DiNardo won his only decision in five overall appearances against the Red Sox but has walked 11 Boston batters in 15 innings.