BOSTON (Interstat) — Sonny Gray pitched six strong innings to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 6-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park before 32,950 fans. Gray allowed one earned run on five hits with five strikeouts to improve to 12-1. The Red Sox improved to 50-48; the Rays fell to 56-42.

Tampa Bay struck first in the second inning when Victor Mesa Jr. hit an inside-the-park home run. Boston answered in the bottom half on an Andruw Monasterio double. The Red Sox took control in the third inning, scoring three runs on a fielder’s choice and a throwing error, plus a run-scoring groundout. Willson Contreras homered in the fifth inning, driving in two runs to cap the scoring at 6-1.

Shane McClanahan took the loss, allowing four earned runs in five innings. He fell to 8-6. Craig Kimbrel tossed a scoreless inning for Tampa Bay, while Chris Roycroft worked two scoreless frames. The game lasted 2 hours, 25 minutes. Boston has won four straight against Tampa Bay, including a sweep of this weekend series.