When starting pitcher Wade Miley trots out to the mound, there is never a concrete prediction as to how he will perform on that given night. 

However, the 28-year old's inconsistency in 2015 proved to be a mute point in the Boston Red Sox' 4-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night, as Miley (W, 10-9) yielded just a single run on six hits in 7.1 dominant innings of work, striking out six batters en route to limiting a formidable offensive attack. 

Miley received some support from his own offense, as well, as catcher Ryan Hanigan contributed two RBIs and a run, surging first baseman Travis Shaw went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run, center fielder Mookie Betts went 2-for-4 with a run, and left fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. chipped in an RBI triple to pioneer Boston to their third straight win. 

Starting pitcher Danny Duffy (L, 6-6) struggled to maintain control over five innings of work for the Royals, who witnessed their five-game win streak come to a close. Boston touched him for four runs on seven hits while reaching twice on bases on balls. 

Offensively, Kansas City failed to sustain any productive surges, with their only run coming on a solo home run by third baseman Mike Moustakas in the fifth inning. Catcher Salvador Perez was the only Royals batter to garner two hits on the night, going 2-for-4, while the rest of the team went just 4-for-33. 

The Red Sox opened the scoring early against Duffy, with Betts and third baseman Pablo Sandoval leading off the bottom of the first inning with consecutive singles. A groundout by shortstop Xander Bogaerts moved the runners into scoring position, and, after a walk issued to designated hitter David Ortiz and a strikeout by left fielder Hanley Ramirez, Shaw worked a two-out RBI walk of his own, bringing home Betts to give Boston a 1-0 lead. 

Boston was able to increase this advantage to 4-0 in the bottom of the third, working some two-out magic in the process. With Ramirez standing on first with two retired after grounding into a fielder's choice, Shaw doubled off of the Green Monster in left field, putting two runners in scoring position. Hanigan then leveled the defining blow of the night, bringing home both runners with a two-RBI single to center. 

The Red Sox were not finished in the inning, however, as Bradley Jr. proceeded to lift an RBI triple to deep right, scoring Shaw to push the Kansas City deficit to four runs. 

Moustakas' solo blast in the fifth inning decreased the gap to 4-1, however, it was not enough to propel the Royals to a comeback. Boston relievers Alexi Ogando (H, 10) and Robbie Ross Jr. (H, 8) each retired a batter in the eighth inning to bridge the gap to incumbent closer Junichi Tazawa, who worked a perfect ninth for his second save in as many nights.