BOSTON (Interstat) — Sonny Gray delivered six and one-third dominant shutout innings, and the Boston Red Sox capitalized on a patient, opportunistic third inning to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-0 on Wednesday afternoon at Fenway Park, securing their first consecutive victories of the young season.

In a crisp game that lasted 2 hours and 36 minutes before an afternoon crowd of 28,660 at Fenway Park, the Red Sox (4-8) relied on Gray’s efficiency and a bullpen that struck out seven over the final two and two-thirds innings to silence a Brewers (8-4) offense that had averaged over five runs per game.

The most important sequence of the game unfolded in the bottom of the third inning against Milwaukee starter Shane Drohan, who was making his major league debut. The inning encapsulated a struggling Boston team finding a way to manufacture runs. Ceddanne Rafaela led off with a sharp single to left. Isiah Kiner-Falefa then laid down a bunt single toward third, moving Rafaela to second. After a groundout advanced both runners, Drohan’s command vanished. He walked Andruw Monasterio on five pitches to load the bases, then walked Willson Contreras on four straight pitches to force in the game’s first run.

Wilyer Abreu followed with an RBI infield single that deflected off second baseman David Hamilton’s glove, scoring Kiner-Falefa. Trevor Story then lifted a sacrifice fly to right field, plating Monasterio to give Boston a 3-0 lead. The rally was built on two infield hits and three walks, a testament to Boston’s grinding approach against the rookie left-hander.

Gray (2-0) was the story, however. The veteran right-hander scattered three hits and two walks while striking out two, expertly working out of his only significant jam in the third inning. After a walk to Garrett Mitchell and a single by Christian Yelich put runners on the corners with one out, Gray induced a swinging strikeout from Jake Bauers to end the threat. He retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced before handing the ball to the bullpen with one out in the seventh.

Boston added insurance in the seventh against reliever Jake Woodford. Contreras and Abreu singled to set the table for Story, who lined an RBI single to left. A challenged ground ball by Caleb Durbin resulted in a forceout at second, but allowed Abreu to cross the plate, extending the lead to 5-0.

The Brewers, who entered the game with the best record in the National League, never mounted a serious challenge. Their best chance came in the seventh when they put two runners on with one out against Gray and reliever Greg Weissert, but Weissert struck out Brandon Lockridge and, after a successful challenge overturned a ball call into a strikeout, fanned Joey Ortiz looking to strand both runners.

Milwaukee’s offense was held to just four hits total. Sal Frelick led off the game with a ground-rule double but was left stranded at third. They would only advance a runner to second base on two other occasions.

The Boston bullpen was flawless. Tyler Samaniego struck out the side in the eighth inning, and Ryan Watson worked a perfect ninth to seal the combined shutout. Milwaukee’s bullpen, featuring scoreless outings from Aaron Ashby and Grant Anderson, kept the game within reach, but the Brewers’ bats could not solve Gray or the Red Sox relievers.

Drohan (0-1) took the loss in his debut, charged with three runs on three hits and four walks over two and two-thirds innings. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Brewers in the series after they took the opener on Monday.

The victory gave Boston a series split after dropping the first two games and marked a positive turn for a club that had lost eight of its first ten games. They will look to carry the momentum into a road trip beginning Friday in St. Louis. Milwaukee, still atop its division, returns home to begin a series against the Washington Nationals on Friday.

According to Interstat, the result was an upset. Their game simulator had projected a 7-2 Brewers victory, and their ELO system gave Milwaukee a 55.2 percent probability to win. Boston, installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5, covered, while the total score of five runs went well under the over/under line of 8.