Beckett (9-3, 2.07 ERA) dominated the Mariners in his last trip to the mound, holding them to one run on seven hits over seven innings of work while fanning seven.

And that performance was nothing new for the righthander, who has given up three or fewer earned runs in nine of his past 10 trips to the mound. Beckett is also 3-0 with a no-decision over his last four starts, and Boston is 8-2 in his past 10 outings.

Luke Hochevar (6-8, 5.29 ERA) will get the ball for the Royals on Thursday afternoon, and he certainly doesn't have Beckett-like numbers so far this season.

Righthander Hochevar is coming off a loss to the Rays in which he surrendered four runs over 5 1-3 innings of work, and he's managed to give up three or more earned runs in seven of his past 10 outings.

However, that hasn't stopped Kansas City from winning when Hochevar heads to the hill – they're 5-0 in his past five starts despite the fact he allowed 19 runs over those 26 innings of work. Their secret? Scoring a whopping 47 runs over those outings.

If the Royals could average almost 10 runs per game over the course of the season they'd be right at the top of the World Series odds at the Bodog Sportsbook. As it stands, though, the last-place club is at 400/1 to win the title this season.

Boston is at 13/4 odds to win the World Series this season, and at 5/4 to claim the AL Pennant in October. Head to the Bodog Sportsbook for the latest MLB futures.

Get all your MLB odds at Bodog.