There's nothing like a quick wake up call to revive a slouching clubhouse. 

Boston Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval, suspended for Thursday's win after using Instagram during the seventh inning of Wednesday's loss, went 2-for-4 with a double, left fielder Hanley Ramirez homered while driving in two runs, center fielder Mookie Betts garnered four hits for the first time in his career, and first baseman Mike Napoli emerged from his ongoing slump with two hits, two RBIs, and a run as Boston captured a 7-3 upset victory over the Kansas City Royals, who currently hold the moniker of the American League's finest team. 

Starter Eduardo Rodriguez (3-1) worked effectively after receiving substantial run support, pitching 6.1 innings of six-hit, one-run, five-strikeout ball, quelling the Royals formidable lineup. On the other side of the docket, Boston shellacked Kansas City starter Yohan Pino over 5.1 innings, tagging him for six runs on 11 hits, including a five-run second inning to plummet the Royals into an insurmountable hole. 

Shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who accounted for an absolute web gem in the sixth inning, began the Red Sox rally with a one-out single, which preceded a deep double to center by Sandoval. Napoli then plated both baserunners with a single up the middle on the ensuing at-bat, and, following a walk by Alejandro De Aza, came around to score on a two-RBI double to right by catcher Blake Swihart. A groundout by second baseman Brock Holt moved Swihart to third, and he scored on a subsequent single by Betts, who went 4-for-5 on the night. 

Boston padded their advantage in the top of the fifth inning, as Ramirez deposited a Pino pitch into the yearning glove of a Red Sox fan sitting in the center field bleachers, providing his squad with a 6-0 lead. 

A double by shortstop Alcides Escobar down the right field line, plating second baseman Omar Infante, in the bottom of the stanza prevented an impending shutout, however by then the damage had been completed. The Red Sox retrieved this run in the top of the seventh inning, as a Ramirez single to left brought home Holt after the utility man stole third earlier in the at-bat. 

To cut the lead to 7-3, Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer lifted a homer to center off of Red Sox reliever Robbie Ross Jr. in the eighth and third baseman Mike Moustakas knocked an RBI double off of Steven Wright in the ninth, providing Kansas City with a smidgen of momentum heading into tomorrow's matchup, in which Rick Porcello (4-7) of Boston challenges Edinson Volquez (6-4) on the hill.