KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Paul Byrd allowed five runs in the first inning, and Kansas City starter Zack Greinke gave up just two hits in six innings as the Royals posted a 5-1 win over the Red Sox on Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium. "It's a shame I didn't get off to a better start. That changes the whole game," Byrd said. "That's what was really frustrating for me. We're out of the game by the first." Byrd settled down, not surrendering a run in his final 5-2/3 innings, leaving with two outs and the bases loaded in the seventh inning. Manny Delcarmen retired the final out of the seventh to keep the Sox within five at the time. The Sox' lone run came in the eighth inning when Jacoby Ellsbury scored on a fielder's choice grounder by Victor Martinez. Earlier in the game, Martinez extended his hitting streak to 21 games with a single. For more, see the Full Count Blog.

The Patriots acquired third-year linebacker Prescott Burgess on Tuesday in a trade with Baltimore for an undisclosed draft choice. To make room for Burgess on the 53-man roster, the Patriots released center Ryan Wendell. Burgess, who stands 6-foot-3, 247 pounds, was a sixth-round draft pick of the Ravens in 2007 out of Michigan. He saw action in eight games as a rookie, posting seven special teams tackles before ending the year on injured reserve due to a hip injury. Burgess spent the entire 2008 season on injured reserve with a shoulder injury that occurred during the preseason. He saw action in Baltimore’s first two games of the 2009 season but did not register any tackles. Wendell was signed by New England as a rookie free agent out of Fresno State in 2008. After spending last season on the practice squad, Wendell made the 53-man roster out of training camp and played in the first two games on special teams.