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KANSAS CITY, Mo.

Perhaps a cold, wet day in Kansas City will finally cool off the Boston Red Sox.

One of the hottest offensive teams in baseball had the opener of their three-game set against the Royals rained out Monday. It will be made up Wednesday as part of a split doubleheader, and the starters that were due to take the mound will be pushed back by a day.

That means the Royals will send Yordano Ventura to the mound against Boston’s Rick Porcello.

Ventura has had another rollercoaster start to the season, in some ways mimicking the rocky road of the reigning World Series champions. The hard-throwing right-hander was dynamic in earlier starts against Houston and Baltimore and downright dreadful in back-to-back losses to Seattle and Cleveland.

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That has led many people to question Ventura’s mental makeup — including his own manager.

“I think the questions are warranted, I really do,” Ned Yost said Monday, shortly before the game was postponed. “I don’t think you’re making too much out of it.”

Ventura was a revelation when he hit the big leagues, unleashing 100 mph heat with seemingly no pressure on his slender shoulders. When the Royals reached the must-win Game 6 of the World Series two years ago, it was Ventura who got the ball and shut down the San Francisco Giants to stay alive.

But after he was anointed the opening day starter last year, Ventura began to struggle. He seemed to let the smallest mistakes become big problems, and he was about to be shuttled to Triple-A Omaha to get his head cleared when left-hander Jason Vargas needed Tommy John surgery.


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