KANSAS CITY (Interstat) — The Boston Red Sox erupted for four runs in the ninth inning Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium, turning a tight contest into a 7-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Garrett Whitlock threw a scoreless ninth inning to earn his third win of the season, while Bailey Falter took the loss in his first decision of 2026.

Jarren Duran delivered the decisive blow, a three-run home run in the top of the ninth that broke open what had been a 3-1 game. Duran finished 2 for 3 with a walk and three RBIs, providing the offensive spark Boston needed to salvage a split of the two-game series after winning the opener 3-1 the previous night.

The Red Sox struck first in the opening inning. Duran drew a leadoff walk, moved to third on a single by Wilyer Abreu and scored on a line-drive single to left by Willson Contreras. The Royals answered immediately in the bottom half. Bobby Witt Jr. singled with one out, Salvador Perez walked and Lane Thomas doubled to right, scoring Witt and sending Perez to third. But Rangers Suarez, Boston’s starter, induced a groundout from Jac Caglianone and a groundout from Starling Marte to limit the damage to one run.

Boston regained the lead in the second. Carlos Narváez walked, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled to center. Caleb Durbin then lined a single to center that scored Narváez, with Kiner-Falefa advancing to third on a fielding error by center fielder Lane Thomas. Duran walked to load the bases, but Ceddanne Rafaela struck out and Abreu flied out to strand three runners.

The game settled into a pitchers’ duel after that. Royals right-hander Luinder Avila, making a spot start, worked three innings of one-hit ball with three strikeouts and no earned runs, keeping Kansas City within striking distance. Suarez, meanwhile, scattered four hits over 4 1/3 innings, allowing one earned run while striking out three. He was lifted after walking Vinnie Pasquantino with two outs in the fifth.

Boston added a crucial insurance run in the eighth. With one out, Rafaela doubled to center and moved to third on an Abreu lineout. Contreras then grounded out to third, plating Rafaela to make it 3-1.

The Red Sox broke the game wide open in the ninth. With one out, Kiner-Falefa singled to left and Nick Sogard, who had led off with a single, moved to second. Mickey Gasper then singled to right, but Sogard was thrown out at home on a strong throw from Caglianone. With runners on first and third and two outs, Duran crushed a 1-0 pitch from reliever Nick Mears over the right-field wall for his fifth home run of the season, scoring Kiner-Falefa and pinch runner Marcelo Mayer. Ceddanne Rafaela followed with a single, and after a single by Abreu, Contreras singled to left to drive in Rafaela, capping the four-run outburst.

The Royals’ bullpen, which had been effective for much of the night, faltered in the ninth. Mears, who had thrown two innings of two-hit ball with one earned run, surrendered the homer. John Schreiber earlier worked a scoreless seventh with one hit and two strikeouts.

Boston’s relief corps was sharp. Jovani Morán struck out the side in a perfect sixth inning. Justin Slaten struck out two in a 1-2-3 seventh. Tyler Samaniego allowed one hit in a scoreless eighth, and Whitlock closed the door with a 1-2-3 ninth that included one strikeout.

The Red Sox outhit the Royals 15-6. Willson Contreras went 2 for 5 with three RBIs. Isiah Kiner-Falefa had two hits and scored twice. For Kansas City, Lane Thomas doubled and drove in a run, and Carter Jensen also doubled. The Royals left seven men on base and struck out 11 times.

The victory improved Boston’s record to 21-27, while Kansas City fell to 20-29. The two teams will meet again Wednesday for the third game of this four-game series before Boston heads home to face the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City hosts the Seattle Mariners.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Kansas City 4, Boston 3, while Interstat’s ELO system gave Boston a 50.60 percent probability to win. Boston entered as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of eight went under the over-under line of 7.5.