BOSTON -- The reliever who finally allowed a run was philosophical after the Royals' amazing streak of consecutive scoreless relief innings ended on Friday at 41 1/3.
Right-hander Peter Moylan, who was charged with a run in the ninth inning of the Royals' 6-3 win over the Red Sox, thought for a moment and said, "I think the good thing about a streak ending is that it's an opportunity for another one to start."
The streak was a Royals record and the longest in the Majors since the 1966 Kansas City A's bullpen reeled off 44 consecutive scoreless innings.

"They've done a great job; they really have," Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer said. "They have been the backbone of the team and our strength."
For the second time in two nights, Royals manager Ned Yost had to turn to his bullpen in the sixth inning. This time, both left-hander Matt Strahm and right-hander Joakim Soria were unavailable.

But Yost got scoreless outings from right-hander Chris Young and left-hander Brian Flynn. Closer Kelvin Herrera gave up an inherited run (Moylan's) but earned his 10th save.
"Pretty good streak," Yost said. "It was over 40 innings. The most important thing is we got a W, and that's all that matters."
Young went 1 2/3 innings, posting his eighth straight scoreless outing. It also marked the first time he has worked in back-to-back games since last Aug. 29-30.

"It's the same mentality," Young said. "You just go out and try to execute pitches. It's what the role calls for. You take the ball, and you go compete.
"I don't look at it any different. If my arm is good enough to go -- and it is -- you take the ball."
Yost said he didn't hesitate to call Young's name on back-to-back nights.
"I really trust him in those situations, to come in and do the job," Yost said. "I was thinking about trying to save him for maybe the eighth, but he was our best bet going into the sixth to get us through the sixth and the seventh."
Young wasn't particularly surprised by the streak and is confident a new one will emerge.
"It's just a great group of guys," Young said. "They go out and take the ball and compete. The results are a function of a few things: one, the defense is phenomenal; two, the catchers have been great; three, the starting pitching has set us up to succeed; and lastly, the offense has been scoring.
"We've been winning a lot of different ways."