(Best E Casino) - The Boston Red Sox won last season's World Series, but the Kansas City Royals are the ones playing like champions right now.

The upstart Royals aim for an eighth victory in their last nine games when they continue a three-game series with the visiting Red Sox tonight at Kauffman Stadium.

Kansas City extended its current winning run to three straight games with Monday's 4-3 triumph over Boston. Gil Meche worked six solid innings to record his fourth consecutive winning start, while Mark Teahen went 2-for-4 with an RBI single to lead the Royals offensively.

Meche (10-9) held the Red Sox to two runs and four hits while racking up nine strikeouts. The right-hander is now 7-1 since June 10.

Alex Gordon added a solo home run to help Kansas City end a string of four straight losses to Boston.

Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz (2-7) was saddled with the loss after allowing four runs through six innings.

Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia finished 3-for-4 on Monday to extend his hitting streak in road games to 25 consecutive contests. The All-Star second baseman's run is the longest in the majors since Luis Castillo hit safely in 27 in a row away from home for Florida in 2002.

The Red Sox had a three-game win streak halted but still remain three games behind American League East leader Tampa Bay, which lost to Cleveland on Monday. Boston holds a 1 1/2-game edge on both Chicago and Minnesota for the lead in the AL Wild Card race.

The defending champs will send Josh Beckett to the hill tonight, with the ace hurler attempting to avoid the first four-start losing streak of his career. He is also coming off his worst performance of the season, a 5 1/3-inning stint against the Angels last Wednesday in which Beckett was rocked for eight runs (7 earned) and surrendered 11 hits.

The former 20-game winner did pitch well in his previous start, despite being on the wrong end of a 1-0 decision against the Yankees. Beckett gave up just the one run and scattered nine hits over seven frames in that game.

He'll be facing a Kansas City squad he is 2-0 with a 2.33 earned run average against in four career starts, although Beckett has not faced the Royals this year.

Brian Bannister will also be trying to end a lengthy winless stretch in tonight's tilt. The Kansas City right-hander is 0-3 with a horrid 8.19 ERA in six starts since defeating Colorado at home on June 23, and has pitched six innings only once during that span.

Bannister did have an encouraging showing in Wednesday's 4-3 win at Oakland, lasting five innings and permitting two runs while striking out seven. He did not receive a decision.

The 27-year-old was ripped for seven runs and 12 hits over just 5 1/3 innings during an 11-8 defeat to the Red Sox at Fenway Park back in May. Bannister also lost his only other start against Boston, a 4-0 setback at Fenway on July 16, 2007.

The Red Sox swept a four-game series from Kansas City at Fenway Park back in May and have won seven of the last 10 meetings between the teams. Boston won two of three games against the Royals in last year's visit to Kauffman Stadium.