Game result and context
Boston Red Sox beat Kansas City Royals 5-1, stay 6.0 games clear in AL wild card race
The Boston Red Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 5-1 at Fenway Park. Carter Jensen's solo homer in the top of the sixth cut Boston's lead to one, but the Red Sox scored twice in the bottom half and added single runs in the seventh and eighth. Ranger Suarez allowed 1 earned run over 7.0 innings to win. Boston moved to 81-68 and remains first among wild card teams, while Kansas City fell to 66-83.
Final result
The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 5-1 on 2026-09-12 at Fenway Park before a crowd of 36,877. Boston improved to 81-68. Kansas City dropped to 66-83.
The game went the regulation 9 innings. The Royals had 1 run, and it came on the only home run of the night.
How the game changed
The game turned in the sixth. Boston had carried a 1-0 lead since the fourth inning when Carter Jensen homered in the top of the sixth to tie it for Kansas City. The Red Sox answered right away with 2 runs in the bottom half, and the Royals did not score again.
Boston kept adding on. The Red Sox scored once in the seventh and once more in the eighth, and the bullpen protected the lead over the final two innings.
By inning, Boston scored 1 in the fourth, 2 in the sixth, 1 in the seventh and 1 in the eighth. Kansas City's lone run came in the sixth.
Key performances
Ranger Suarez carried the Red Sox. He worked 7.0 innings, struck out 8 and allowed 1 earned run, and his record moved to 7-4.
At the plate, Wilyer Abreu had one hit in four at-bats and drove in 2 runs. Adley Rutschman had two hits in four at-bats with a run scored and an RBI. Nick Sogard had two hits in three at-bats, scored once and drove in a run.
For Kansas City, Carter Jensen had one hit in four at-bats, and it was the solo homer in the sixth. Randy Dobnak took the loss, falling to 3-4 after allowing 3 earned runs over 5.2 innings with 4 strikeouts.
Season and playoff context
As of 2026-09-12, Boston sits third in its division, 8.5 games back, with a division elimination number of 5. The Red Sox rank second among wild card teams and lead the wild card field, sitting 6.0 games clear of the cutoff.
Kansas City is fifth in its division, 10.5 games back, with an elimination number of 3. The Royals are 10th in the wild card standings, 9.0 games out, and their wild card elimination number is 5.
Series context
This was a regular season game, the second of three scheduled between the clubs at Fenway Park.