The streaking Red Sox begin a four-game home series against a Royals team that won the last series between these teams behind the struggling Garrett Richards tonight at Fenway Park (7:10 p.m., NESN).
If there are two pitchers who are symbols of fallout from MLB’s draconian ban on pitch-grip substances, they are yesterday’s Yankees starter, the flailing ace Gerrit Cole and today’s Sox starter, Garrett Richards. At least for Richards this isn’t speculation: He’s the one saying so. He has allowed four earned runs in each of his last three starts, over 5 1⁄3 innings the first time, four the second, and a paltry 1 2⁄3 in his last outing.