CHICAGO (Interstat) — Payton Tolle pitched six dominant innings and the Boston Red Sox erupted for four runs in the ninth inning Tuesday night to beat the Chicago White Sox 8-1 at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Tolle allowed two hits, walked one and struck out six over six scoreless innings, earning his fifth win of the season against six losses. The left-hander rebounded sharply from a rough outing July 1 against Washington in which he surrendered six earned runs in three innings. Tolle also delivered a seven-inning, one-hit shutout against the New York Yankees on June 26.

The Red Sox, who entered the game with a 40-48 record, improved to 41-48. The White Sox fell to 47-44 after losing for the second time in their past three games.

Boston struck first in the second inning against White Sox starter Noah Schultz. Andruw Monasterio led off the frame with a solo home run to left field, his fourth of the season, giving the Red Sox a 1-0 lead. Connor Wong followed with a bunt single, and two batters later Ceddanne Rafaela launched a two-run homer to left, his eighth, scoring Wong and making it 3-0.

The Red Sox added another run in the fourth. Jarren Duran led off with a double, his 10th, and moved to third on a walk to Monasterio. Wong executed a sacrifice bunt that scored Duran, though Monasterio was thrown out at third on the play, leaving the score 4-0.

Schultz, who took the loss and fell to 2-6, worked five innings, allowing seven hits and four earned runs. He walked two and struck out three.

Chicago finally got on the board in the seventh inning against Boston reliever Justin Slaten. Chase Meidroth walked, Sam Antonacci singled and Junior Perez reached on an infield single to load the bases with no outs. Kyle Teel grounded into a force out at second, bringing Meidroth home to cut the deficit to 4-1. Slaten then struck out Jacob Gonzalez and Tristan Peters to end the inning.

The White Sox’s best chance to tie or take the lead came in that seventh inning, but Boston’s bullpen held. Ryan Watson pitched a perfect eighth inning with two strikeouts. Garrett Whitlock worked a scoreless ninth, allowing no hits.

Boston broke the game open in the top of the ninth against the Chicago bullpen. Wong led off with a walk, and after two quick outs, Wilyer Abreu walked to put runners at first and second. Willson Contreras doubled to left field, scoring both Wong and Abreu to push the lead to 6-1. Romy Gonzalez followed with a double to right, scoring Contreras and making it 7-1. Caleb Durbin walked, and Duran singled sharply to center, scoring Gonzalez for the final margin of 8-1.

The four-run ninth inning was the decisive moment of the game, turning a 4-1 contest into a blowout and ensuring the White Sox had no chance to rally in the bottom of the frame.

Boston’s offense finished with 11 hits. Rafaela went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs. Monasterio was 2-for-4 with a home run and one RBI. Contreras went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Duran doubled and singled, driving in a run.

The White Sox managed only four hits. Sam Antonacci had two singles. Junior Perez singled. Schultz’s replacement on the mound, Jordan Hicks, tossed a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. Seranthony Domínguez also threw a scoreless inning, allowing one hit and striking out two.

The teams combined for nine runs, which went under the pregame over/under line of 8. Boston had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Chicago 7, Boston 6. Interstatl’s ELO system gave Boston a 52.90 percent probability to win.

The announced attendance was 25,392. The game lasted 2 hours, 53 minutes.

Boston now heads into the second game of this three-game series Wednesday at Guaranteed Rate Field. The Red Sox then travel to New York for a weekend set against the Mets before returning home to face the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles. The White Sox will host the Athletics for a three-game series beginning Friday, then hit the road for series against the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers.

Tolle’s bounce-back performance was critical for a Red Sox rotation that has struggled with consistency. After the July 1 loss to Washington, Boston dropped two of three to the Nationals before sweeping a three-game series at the Los Angeles Angels over the weekend. The Red Sox outscored the Angels 20-8 in that series, winning 5-2, 8-1 and 7-5.

Chicago came into Tuesday’s game having won three of four at Cleveland, including a 7-6 victory Sunday. The White Sox had been competitive in recent weeks, but their offense was largely stifled by Tolle and the Boston bullpen.

Monasterio’s leadoff home run in the second inning set the tone, and the Red Sox never trailed. Schultz settled in after the early damage, retiring seven straight batters at one point, but the White Sox could not generate enough offense to seriously threaten.

Defensively, Boston turned a key double play in the seventh after the White Sox had cut the lead to 4-1, preventing further damage.

The ninth-inning outburst sealed the win and gave the Red Sox a much-needed victory as they try to climb back above .500 in the second half of the season.