TAMPA, Fla. (Interstat) — Brandon Lowe launched his 30th home run of the season and Christopher Morel drove in four runs, including a pivotal two-run single in the eighth inning, as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Boston Red Sox 7-3 on Sunday night at George Steinbrenner Field.

The victory allowed the Rays (76-80) to snap an eight-game losing streak against the Red Sox and avoid a three-game series sweep in front of a crowd of 10,046. Despite the loss, the Red Sox (85-71) maintained their one-game lead for the American League’s second wild-card spot as both Cleveland and Houston also lost Sunday.

Tampa Bay seized control early, capitalizing on Boston starter Connelly Early’s command issues in the first inning. After loading the bases on a single by Chandler Simpson and walks to Yandy Díaz and Junior Caminero, Morel cleared the bases with a sharp two-run double down the left-field line. A third run scored on the play when Morel reached third and Caminero crossed the plate on a throwing error by Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman.

Boston chipped away, getting a run back in the fourth inning when Nathaniel Lowe doubled and scored on a Ceddanne Rafaela double, cutting the deficit to 3-1.

The Rays extended their lead in the sixth when Lowe connected for his milestone homer, a solo shot off Red Sox reliever Steven Matz that made it 4-1.

The Red Sox responded in the top of the seventh, mounting a rally against the Tampa Bay bullpen. Consecutive singles by Jarren Duran and Trevor Story set the table for Alex Bregman, whose RBI single scored Duran. Romy Gonzalez followed with another run-scoring single to plate Story, pulling Boston within a run at 4-3. However, with the tying run on third, Nathaniel Lowe struck out swinging to end the threat.

Tampa Bay put the game out of reach in the bottom of the eighth, sending nine batters to the plate and scoring three insurance runs. The rally started with singles by Díaz and Caminero and a walk to Brandon Lowe that loaded the bases with no outs. Morel then delivered the decisive blow, lacing a two-run single to center field. Nick Fortes followed with another single to re-load the bases, and Brandon Lowe eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Jake Mangum.

Rays starter Joe Boyle was dominant despite not factoring in the decision, striking out nine batters over 4 1/3 innings while allowing just one run on four hits. The Tampa Bay bullpen combined for 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, with Garrett Cleavinger (2-6) earning the win after a perfect seventh inning. Pete Fairbanks closed it out with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Early (1-1) took the loss for Boston, charged with three runs, two earned, on three hits over four innings of work. He walked three and struck out four.

The game, which lasted 2 hours and 50 minutes, saw Boston outhit Tampa Bay 10 to 9, but the Red Sox stranded 10 baserunners. The combined total of 10 runs fell under the pregame over/under line of 8.

Boston now heads to Toronto for a critical three-game series beginning Tuesday, while Tampa Bay travels to Baltimore to open a three-game set the same day.