Kansas City Royals defeat Boston Red Sox, 4-3

BOSTON—Brian Bannister did everything he could to stop Boston's winning streak.

Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka kind of did, too. David DeJesus drove in a pair of runs for the Royals in their 4-3 win over Boston on Thursday night.

Boston's five-game winning streak came to an end against one of baseball's worst teams a day after the Red Sox finished a three-game sweep at Tampa Bay, which has the best record in the big leagues at 33-15.

Matsuzaka (3-2) walked a se...

It was just, well, blah.

It felt like a game after a very good road trip where the Red Sox took care of some of baseball’s best clubs. It felt like the old letdown game, where the offense lacked oomph after the team got into town at 4:35 a.m. yesterday. It felt like one of those bad Daisuke Matsuzaka games where he walked the ballpark — eight in all — as he suffered a letdown after pitching an eight-inning one-hitter in Philadelphia.

It felt like — and it was — all o...

Even though a big zero was posted on the Fenway Park scoreboard after the Kansas City Royals’ first look at Daisuke Matsuzaka, Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell had an uneasy feeling come over him. He saw enough that initial inning — 24 pitches, two walks — to be concerned. This wasn’t going to be the Matsuzaka who nearly pitched a no-hitter five days ago.

And while the Royals didn’t get a hit until the fourth inning, Farrell’s fears played out. Matsuzaka was unable t...