"It was a short-handed collection of Boston Red Sox who arrived Thursday at Kauffman Stadium for the start of a four-game weekend series against the Royals. No David Ortiz. No Kevin Youkilis. A limited Marco Scutaro.

So what happens?

Dustin Pedroia slipped again into the fourth spot in the lineup and delivered two crucial two-out singles against Luke Hochevar that produced three runs and carried the Red Sox to a 4-3 victory over the Royals.

"The two hits I got were actually good pitches," Pedroia said. "They were down in the zone, and the first one jammed me. We just got three two-out hits, but other than that he kept us in check all night."

The other hit was Jason Varitek's two-out RBI single on a slicing drive just fair to left with two outs in the second inning.

That was the game, really.

Hochevar, 8-10, faced Pedroia on three occasions with two outs and runners in scoring position. Hochevar got a strikeout in the first inning but yielded a two-run single that broke a 1-1 tie in the third and an RBI single that snapped a 3-3 tie in the fifth.

"He's a good hitter," Hochevar said, "and he hits the ball where it's pitched. The base hit up the middle that scored two runs, I was trying to come in off the plate for a ball. I felt I got it in off the plate, and he put a good swing on it. That's a good piece of hitting.""