Boston’s big sticks bash Royals in 12-5 rout

BOSTON, July 27 (Reuters) - A second straight
offensive burst carried the American League-leading Boston
Red Sox to a punishing 12-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals
on Wednesday. 

A day after piling on the runs in a 13-9 win over Kansas
City, Boston's bats stayed hot as they scored 10 runs in the
first four innings to stun the Royals (43-61) and leave them
mired at the bottom of the AL East. 

Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia blasted back-to-back home
runs to open the bottom of the first inning, with Pedroia
extending his hitting streak to 24 games. Both players finished
with three hits and two RBIs. 

The Red Sox (64-38) took control with three runs in the
second inning to take a 5-3 lead. David Ortiz struck with a
grand slam in the fourth inning as Boston surged to 10-3 against
losing starter Bruce Chen, who did not return for the fifth. 

John Lackey (9-8) took his fourth straight win on the mound
despite allowing 11 hits and four runs in under six innings.
Boston's Adrian Gonzalez added RBI singles in the sixth and
eighth and finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs.