Gray's season-high 9 K's sets tone as Sox starters continue to shove

KANSAS CITY -- While the Red Sox spent the first five innings of Monday night’s opener of a three-game series against the Royals continuing that prolonged search to find some offense, Sonny Gray, the ultimate craftsman, went to work.

The offense eventually did have a moment to savor, and Willson Contreras provided it with his second clutch, two-run homer in three days, this one a Statcast-projected 435-foot moonshot to left-center field that broke a scoreless tie with one out in the top of the sixth in Boston’s eventual 3-1 victory.

But it was the 36-year-old Gray who kept Kansas City at bay until that point with a plethora of nasty offerings in what was arguably the best of his eight starts in a Boston uniform.

Per usual, Gray used everything but the kitchen sink, throwing five pitch types (sweeper, cutter, four-seamer, curveball and sinker) at least 10 times, while also mixing in a couple of changeups for good measure.

With that diverse mix, Gray (5-1, 2.93 ERA) recorded a season-high of nine strikeouts over six-plus innings, while walking one and allowing one earned run on a night Boston’s offense scored three runs or fewer for the ninth straight contest.

At a time ace Garrett Crochet is on the 15-day injured list as he recovers from left shoulder inflammation, Gray, Ranger Suarez, Payton Tolle and Connelly Early continue to provide stellar work from the hill.

Though the Sox are 8-8 in May, it is mostly due to the pitching staff allowing two earned runs or less in 12 of the 16 games that has allowed them to break even this month.

The near nightly display of dominance from the mound is proof of how dangerous the Red Sox could be with an improvement by the offense.