BOSTON (Interstat) — Ranger Suarez turned in another dominant start, pitching seven innings of one-run ball as the Boston Red Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 5-1 on Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park. Suarez allowed five hits, struck out eight and did not walk a batter while improving to 7-4. The Red Sox moved to 81-68. The Royals dropped to 66-83. The game, played before 36,877 at Fenway Park, took 2 hours, 16 minutes.

Suarez was in control from the outset. Kansas City put together a first-inning threat when Bobby Witt Jr. singled to third with one out and advanced to third on Salvador Perez’s groundout to second. Suarez responded by striking out Vinnie Pasquantino, ending the inning without a run. Boston went down in order in the first, with Roman Anthony and Mickey Gasper flying out to left and Adley Rutschman striking out swinging.

Kansas City did not threaten in the second. Nick Loftin struck out swinging, Michael Massey lined out to left fielder Roman Anthony, and John Rave lined out to center fielder Jarren Duran. Boston also went quietly in the second. Wilyer Abreu lined out sharply to second baseman Michael Massey, Trevor Story struck out swinging, and Nick Sogard flew out to left fielder Matthew Lugo.

Suarez retired the side in order in the third. Jarren Duran struck out swinging, Caleb Durbin grounded out to third baseman Nick Loftin to first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, and Anthony Seigler grounded out, second baseman Michael Massey to first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino. Kansas City’s Matthew Lugo, Kyle Isbel and Carter Jensen all made outs in the top half.

Boston broke through in the fourth. Roman Anthony singled on a line drive to right fielder John Rave. After Mickey Gasper grounded out and Anthony moved to second, Rutschman singled on a ground ball to center fielder Kyle Isbel, scoring Anthony. Wilyer Abreu popped out to third baseman Nick Loftin in foul territory, and Trevor Story grounded out to third, but Boston led 1-0.

Kansas City answered in the sixth. After Kyle Isbel grounded out to second, Carter Jensen homered on a fly ball to right field, his 24th of the season, tying the game at 1-1. The homer was projected at 386 feet and was the only pitch that truly hurt Suarez. Bobby Witt Jr. grounded out, Salvador Perez singled on a sharp line drive to left, and Pasquantino flew out to right, ending the inning.

Boston regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Anthony Seigler flew out to center, and Roman Anthony struck out swinging. Gasper kept the inning alive with a single on a ground ball to right, and Rutschman followed with a single to right that moved Gasper to second. Abreu then doubled on a sharp fly ball to right, scoring Gasper and Rutschman to give Boston a 3-1 lead. Trevor Story struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Red Sox added another run in the seventh. Sogard doubled on a fly ball to left, moved to third on Duran’s groundout to pitcher Alex Lange to first baseman Pasquantino, and scored on Durbin’s single on a fly ball to left. Durbin was thrown out at second on the relay from left fielder Matthew Lugo to second baseman Michael Massey. Isiah Kiner-Falefa walked, and Roman Anthony singled to right, but Gasper flew out to center to end the threat.

Boston capped the scoring in the eighth. Rutschman flew out to right fielder Nick Loftin, and Abreu lined out to first baseman Pasquantino. Story doubled on a line drive to left, and Sogard doubled on a line drive to center, scoring Story. Duran grounded out to first baseman Pasquantino to pitcher Easton McGee, ending the inning with Boston ahead 5-1.

Garrett Whitlock was overpowering in the top of the eighth, striking out Jac Caglianone, Carter Jensen and Bobby Witt Jr. in order. Aroldis Chapman handled the ninth. Salvador Perez walked, but Pasquantino grounded into a force out, with Perez out at second and Pasquantino advancing on a throwing error by shortstop Trevor Story. Nick Loftin grounded out to Chapman, and Isaac Collins grounded out to second baseman Kiner-Falefa to first baseman Sogard, finishing the game.

Suarez finished with seven innings, five hits, one earned run and eight strikeouts. Dobnak took the loss, dropping to 3-4, after allowing three earned runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings with four strikeouts. Whitlock struck out all three batters he faced. Chapman allowed no hits and no runs in the ninth. Gose recorded one out for Kansas City and allowed one hit with one strikeout. McGee allowed one earned run on two hits in one inning, and Lange allowed one earned run on three hits in one inning.

Jensen had Kansas City’s most important offensive moment, finishing 1 for 4 with a home run and one RBI. Witt added a single, and Perez and Massey also singled. The Royals finished with five hits and could not sustain pressure against Suarez or Boston’s bullpen. Boston collected 10 hits. Abreu went 1 for 4 with two RBIs. Sogard went 2 for 3 with one RBI. Rutschman also had multiple hits and scored a run. The Red Sox played clean defense behind their pitchers and turned several routine groundouts into outs.

The win gave Boston a second straight strong start from Suarez, who had also pitched seven scoreless innings in his previous outing. His recent form has helped stabilize the rotation as the Red Sox push through September. Kansas City, meanwhile, remained unable to solve Fenway Park in the middle game of the series. The Royals had won the series opener 3-2 on Friday, but Boston evened the series with Saturday’s victory.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Boston 5, Kansas City 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave Boston a 62.1 percent probability to win. Boston had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 6 went over the over/under line of 8.5.