The Royals roll of effective substitute starting pitching ended with a thud on Friday.
The Red Sox roughed up Yohan Pino and ended the Royals’ four-game winning streak with a 7-3 victory before a sellout crowd of 38,190 at Kauffman Stadium.
With injuries to three starting pitchers, the Royals have been forced to dip into reserves, and the results had largely been positive. Chris Young and Joe Blanton provided solid performances on consecutive nights earlier this week.
Pino, called up from Omaha a day earlier when the Royals placed Opening Day starter Yordano Ventura on the disabled list, was knocked around in a five-run second inning.