KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Interstat) — Sonny Gray pitched six strong innings and Willson Contreras homered to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 3-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday at Kauffman Stadium. Gray allowed five hits and one earned run while striking out nine to improve to 5-1. He earned his third consecutive win after victories May 13 against Philadelphia and May 6 at Detroit. Aroldis Chapman struck out one in a perfect ninth inning for his 11th save. Boston scored twice in the sixth inning when Contreras hit a two-run homer to left-center field, scoring Mickey Gasper. The Red Sox added a run in the seventh on Jarren Duran’s sacrifice fly that scored Connor Wong. The Royals answered in the bottom of the seventh when Jac Caglianone doubled to right field, driving in Carter Jensen. Seth Lugo took the loss, falling to 1-4 after allowing two earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts over six innings. Boston outhit Kansas City 9-6. The Red Sox improved to 20-27, while the Royals dropped to 20-28. The game drew 15,531 fans and lasted 2 hours, 25 minutes.

KANSAS CITY (Interstat) — Sonny Gray struck out nine over six strong innings and Willson Contreras delivered a two-run homer in the sixth inning as the Boston Red Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 3-1 on Monday night at Kauffman Stadium. Gray allowed five hits and one earned run while walking none for his fifth win of the season against one loss. The right-hander retired the side in order in the first, third and fourth innings and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second. He is 2-0 in his past two starts after wins against Philadelphia and Detroit. Contreras broke a scoreless tie in the sixth when he drove a 1-2 pitch from Seth Lugo deep to left-center field, scoring Mickey Gasper ahead of him. It was Contreras’ 10th home run of the season and gave Boston a 2-0 lead. The Red Sox added a run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Jarren Duran that scored Connor Wong, who had doubled earlier in the inning. Kansas City answered in the bottom of the seventh. Carter Jensen walked to lead off against Gray, and Jac Caglianone followed with a double to right field that scored Jensen. Gray was replaced by Justin Slaten, who struck out Isaac Collins and got Michael Massey to ground out, then fanned Kyle Isbel to end the inning with the tying run at third base. Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless ninth for his 11th save, striking out Starling Marte to begin the inning before inducing groundouts from Caglianone and Collins. Lugo took the loss, allowing five hits and two earned runs over six innings with five strikeouts. He fell to 1-4. Boston took the lead for good on Contreras’ homer in the sixth, capping a two-run outburst that included a leadoff single by Gasper. The Red Sox had nine hits in the game, while the Royals managed six. Masataka Yoshida tripled for Boston in the fourth inning, his first triple of the season, but was left stranded after Monasterio struck out. Andruw Monasterio singled twice for the Red Sox. Marcelo Mayer also singled and scored a run. For Kansas City, Caglianone went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. He doubled twice in the game, including an eighth-inning double that was his ninth of the season. Bobby Witt Jr. singled in the eighth and stole his 14th base, but the Royals could not rally. Boston improved to 20-27, while Kansas City dropped to 20-28. The game was played before an announced crowd of 15,531 and lasted 2 hours, 25 minutes. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Boston 4, Kansas City 2. Interstat’s ELO system gave Boston a 50.60 percent probability to win. Boston was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 4 went over the over-under line of 9.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Interstat) — The Boston Red Sox look to halt a two-game losing streak when they open a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals on Monday night at Kauffman Stadium. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. under cloudy skies and 83 degrees. Boston (19-27) sends right-hander Sonny Gray (4-1, 3.12 ERA) to the mound. Gray has been the Red Sox’s most reliable starter this season, posting quality starts in five of his six outings. Kansas City counters with righty Seth Lugo (1-3, 4.87 ERA), who is seeking his first win since April 20. The Royals (20-27) are coming off a 2-0 shutout of the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday, their second win in three games. Right-hander Stephen Kolek threw 6⅓ scoreless innings in that victory, allowing four hits and striking out three. Kolek, a player to watch, has a 3.18 ERA over his last three starts, including a win against Cleveland on May 5 in which he allowed three runs over six innings. He struggled May 12 against the Chicago White Sox, giving up five runs in 4⅔ frames. The Red Sox dropped Sunday’s series finale 8-1 at Atlanta. Reliever Ryan Watson continued his strong recent work, tossing three scoreless innings with four strikeouts while allowing no hits. Watson, a key bullpen arm for Boston, has not allowed an earned run in three of his last four appearances. Over his past eight outings, he has a 2.31 ERA and 18 strikeouts across 14⅔ innings. Boston’s offense has sputtered lately, scoring three runs or fewer in seven of its last nine games. The Red Sox are 4-6 in their past 10 contests. Salvador Perez leads the Royals’ attack after driving in both runs Sunday with a two-run homer. Kansas City is 5-5 over its last 10 games. According to Interstat’s game simulator, Boston is projected to win 4-2. The Red Sox enter as a -1.5 run favorite, with the over/under set at 9. The series continues Tuesday and Wednesday before both teams head home: Boston hosts Minnesota on Friday, while Kansas City begins a six-game homestand against Seattle.