Red Sox woke up the Rafael Devers monster and KC Royals paid the price

The Kansas City Royals entered their weekend set with Boston Red Sox flying high, winning 15 of their last 17 games, and working their way back into a wild card spot after a less than ideal start to the season, headlined by a dreadful six-game losing streak from April 14-19.

But the near .500 Red Sox were not a team to take lightly, with the likes of a possible MVP candidate in Alex Bregman leading an offense with no shortage of All-Star talent and Garrett Crochet anchoring this rotation by looking more than worth the hefty investment Boston made on him in the offseason.

But another storyline that loomed over this series was the recent fireworks between the Red Sox front office and Rafael Devers. After an offseason filled drama after Bregman's signing pushed Devers off third base, more drama ensued last week after first baseman Triston Casas went down for the season with injury.

The team reportedly had the conversation about Devers moving to first in his absence, but
Devers was reluctant and seemingly frustrated by thought of moving positions for a second time in 2025.

"They can't expect me to play every single postion out there," Devers said.

He appeared to channel that frustration into his game this weekend, and the Royals happened to be on the receiving end of some stellar performances from the Red Sox DH. He was an instrumental figure in the Red Sox handing Kansas City their first series loss since the weekend four-game set against the Detroit Tigers from April 17-20.

Red Sox woke up the Rafael Devers monster and KC Royals paid the price

Devers was playing with a purpose this weekend, as it was his first game action since that difficult conversation with Craig Breslow and the Red Sox brass. He was a constant throne in the Royals' side the entire series.

On Friday, despite Kansas City coming out on top 2-1 in extra innings, it was Devers who got to Daniel Lynch IV and supplied a ground ball that would bring home the extra innings ghost runner in Ceddanne Rafaela. He'd finish the night 1-for-5 with an RBI.

While Friday may've been modest for Devers, Saturday brought nothing short of sheer brilliance from him. In the Red Sox's 10-1 route of the Royals, Devers ended up going 4-for-5 with three RBI, a double and a walk, and played a huge role in chasing Cole Ragans from this one, as he went 3-for-3 off the Royals' ace.

Then on Sunday, while it may not have been as stellar as the night prior, Devers still led the charge offensively for the Sox, as his sixth inning two-run homer was the difference in their 3-1 series clinching win at Kauffman Stadium. He'd finish the day going 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and was intentionally walked once.

For the series Devers was 7-for-12 with one homer, six RBI, one walk and one IBB. His 335 wRC+ for the weekend sat fifth across the league, his six RBI put him in a tie for third, his .583 AVG was fourth and his 1.560 OPS was seventh.

Devers wasn't the KC Royals' only issue this weekend

Luckily for the Royals, they don't have to worry about facing Devers again until the beginning of August. And in terms of their upcoming three game series this week, the Houston Astros don't appear to have a disgruntled superstar looking to take his frustrations out on the first opponent he sees.

That being said though, Devers was just one of multiple issues plaguing Kansas City this weekend.

For starters, Devers only magnified the issue their starters had for a majority of the series. After Lorenzen dazzled on Friday night, to give the Royals their third consecutive seven inning shutout start, their two top arms in Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo looked far from perfect in their outings.

Ragans may've struck out eight across five innings, but he also surrendered four earned runs off seven hits to pick up the loss. Lugo managed to an inning more on Sunday than his fellow All-Star rotation mate the day prior, but he surrendered three earned runs off six hits and also picked up the loss.

Then there was the offense, which has been spotty all season, but only mustered four runs combined over the weekend, a far cry from the 10-run form they showed in Thursday's series finale against the White Sox.

The bullpen was the only real net positive the Royals could take away from this weekend, as other than an Angel Zerpa's five-run blow-up on Saturday, they looked all-around solid.

Kansas City will have an opportunity to redeem themselves on Monday on the road against Houston, as Michael Wacha takes the mound. First pitch from Daikin Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. CT.