Game thread CXLVI - Royals at Red Sox

Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty ImagesGood afternoon. Before we get to the matchups I wanted to mention the roster move the Royals made earlier today. Edward Olivares is finally returned from the IL. That’s good! Before he got hurt this year, he was hitting well and his defense isn’t going to get any better if he doesn’t play. Unfortunately, to make room on the roster for Olivares the Royals chose to demote first baseman and outfielder Nick Pratto back to Omaha.

Pratto was struggling a bit at the big league level, it’s true. Still, it seems unlikely that he has much more work to do at the AAA level. The simplest way for him to improve would be for him to reduce his strikeout rate. But that’s been…