BOSTON (Interstat) — Jake Bennett pitched six dominant innings, Masataka Yoshida homered and the Boston Red Sox routed the Tampa Bay Rays 10-0 in the first game of a doubleheader Friday afternoon at Fenway Park.

The victory was the fourth straight for the Red Sox, who improved to 47-48 and climbed within 2½ games of .500 for the first time since June 10. The Rays, who entered the day with the second-best record in the American League at 56-38, fell to 56-39.

Bennett, a left-hander, allowed only one hit over six scoreless innings, struck out three and walked two. He threw 84 pitches, 54 for strikes, and faced just one batter over the minimum through the first five frames. The only hit he surrendered was a second-inning single by Junior Caminero, which came with two outs and was quickly erased when the next batter grounded out.

Bennett’s outing lowered his ERA to 3.41 and gave him his fifth win of the season against three losses. He was backed by a relentless Red Sox offense that collected 15 hits, including five for extra bases.

Boston struck first in the second inning. Caleb Durbin led off with a single and moved to third on a double by Yoshida. After Romy Gonzalez struck out, Jarren Duran lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Durbin. Carlos Narváez followed with an RBI single to plate Yoshida, making it 2-0.

The lead grew to 3-0 in the fourth when Yoshida hammered his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot to right field off Rays starter Griffin Jax. The ball landed deep into the stands, giving Yoshida his third hit of the game. He finished 3 for 5 with the homer and a double.

Jax, a right-hander, was pulled after four innings. He allowed three runs on five hits, struck out three and walked one. The loss dropped his record to 5-7.

The game turned decisively in the sixth inning against the Tampa Bay bullpen. Durbin was hit by a pitch from reliever Chris Roycroft to start the frame. Yoshida singled, putting runners at first and third. Gonzalez walked to load the bases. Duran then lined a two-run single to right field off the glove of second baseman Ben Williamson, scoring Durbin and Yoshida to make it 5-0.

Narváez followed with a bunt single that scored Gonzalez when catcher Nick Fortes threw the ball into right field, an error that allowed Duran to reach third. Tsung-Che Cheng then laid down another bunt single, plating Duran and extending the lead to 7-0. After a double play erased two baserunners, Ceddanne Rafaela doubled to left-center, bringing home Narváez for an 8-0 lead.

Roycroft intentionally walked Wilyer Abreu before Durbin singled to right, scoring Rafaela for a 9-0 advantage. Durbin finished 3 for 4 with a walk and one RBI.

The Red Sox scored their final run in the seventh when Narváez crushed his third home run of the season, a solo shot to left field off reliever Manuel Rodríguez.

Alec Gamboa, a right-hander, earned his first save by pitching three scoreless innings of relief. He allowed two hits and struck out one, retiring the final five batters he faced. Gamboa now has one save on the season.

The Rays managed only three hits in the game: Caminero’s single in the second, a double by Taylor Walls in the eighth and a single by Ryan Vilade in the ninth. Tampa Bay struck out eight times and grounded into one double play.

Boston’s defense was sharp, turning two double plays and making no errors. Romy Gonzalez, starting at first base, went hitless in three at-bats but handled all 12 putouts cleanly.

The game was completed in 2 hours, 19 minutes, the shortest game at Fenway Park this season. The announced attendance was 36,774.

With the loss, Tampa Bay fell to 1-6 in its last seven games. The Rays have scored three or fewer runs in five of those contests. The Red Sox, meanwhile, have won nine of their last 11 games and have outscored opponents 65-27 during that stretch.

The two teams are scheduled to play the second game of the doubleheader later Friday evening. Tampa Bay will send right-hander Zack Littell to the mound, while Boston will counter with left-hander Brennan Bernardino.

Boston’s next series begins Monday against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park. Tampa Bay heads to Toronto for a four-game series starting Monday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Boston 7, Tampa Bay 4. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Boston with a 54.20 percent probability to win. Tampa Bay had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of 10 runs went under the over-under line of 8.5.