The opener of a three-game series between the Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium rained out last night. The teams will start the series Tuesday night instead followed by a double-header on Wednesday, and I think the Royals are looking good to record an upset here in Game 1.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - The Royals hand the ball to Yordano Ventura (3-2, 4.62) who held the Yankees to three runs in six innings of a 7-3 win his last start. A solid performance following back-to-back losses, and Ventura is looking good to build on that outing against a team he held to one run in six innings in the lone meeting last season. The Red Sox counter with Rick Porcello (6-1, 3.11 ERA), and the right-hander has struggled mightily in recent meetings with Kansas City posting 7.20 ERA while losing his last three starts.

2. Lorenzo Cain - The Royals' center fielder is 14-for-36 during a nine-game hitting streak and he is 5-for-13 in previous at bats versus Porcello.

3. X-Factor - The reigning World Series champions have a losing record this season, but they've been solid home at Kauffman with an 11-6 record.

Selection: This is a play on the Kansas City Royals +1.5 (8*)