Royals 5, Red Sox 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Bruce Chen pitched a gem and Billy Butler and Justin Maxwell homered as the Kansas City Royals topped the Boston Red Sox 5-1 on Thursday night.
Chen (5-0) limited the Red Sox to five singles in 7 2/3 innings, his longest outing since moving into the rotation on July 12.
Luke Hochevar replaced Chen and got the final four outs for his second career save.
Jon Lester (10-7) was charged with the loss, although he allowed just one earned run and four hits in seven innings. Two of three runs charged to Lester were unearned after a Jonny Gomes error in the first inning.
Butler and Maxwell homered in the eighth off Red Sox reliever Rubby De La Rosa.
The Red Sox avoided a shutout when Stephen Drew's ninth-inning single scored Gomes.
Lester, who entered the game with a 1.64 ERA in nine career starts against the Royals including a no-hitter in 2008, yielded three runs on two hits and two walks in the first inning.
Lester labored through 41 pitches and was not helped by Gomes' fielding miscue on Alex Gordon's routine fly to left that resulted in two unearned runs. Gordon was credited with a sacrifice fly that scored Lorenzo Cain, who led off with a double.
Mike Moustakas, hitting a paltry .173 with five RBIs against left-handers, stroked a two-run, two-out single for the key blow of the inning.
Chen, who was making his fifth start after moving into the rotation on July 12, held the Red Sox to two singles in the first five innings.
Jacoby Ellsbury led off the game with a single, but Chen promptly picked him off first base.
The Royals threatened in the fifth when Alcides Escobar singled and Eric Hosmer reached when Daniel Nava mishandled his grounder. Lester got out of that mess by striking out Butler and retiring Gordon on an infield popup.
NOTES: Nava came off paternity leave and made just his fifth start of the season at first base for the Red Sox. RHP Steven Wright was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket. ...The Royals promoted LHP Francisley Bueno from Triple-A Omaha and optioned LHP Danny Duffy to the Storm Chasers. Bueno, 32, went 1-1 with a 1.56 ERA in 18 relief appearances last season with Kansas City. Duffy could be recalled for an Aug. 16 start as the 26th man when the Royals play a doubleheader at Detroit.
