BOSTON -- Yonny Chirinos leapt off the pitcher's mound and into the air with excitement as Rafael Devers swung and missed on his 87.9 mph splitter.

The right-hander was perfect through five innings against the Red Sox, but it was his performance in a sixth-inning bases-loaded jam, which ended with Devers’ strikeout, that proved most clutch in the Rays’ 5-1 win on Friday at Fenway Park.

• Box score

“He was outstanding,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Yonny, he had it all going. He had the fastball going, the command of the offspeed pitches just below the zone. Probably couldn’t have asked for much more from him tonight.”

Chirinos kept the Red Sox off the basepaths until he walked Brock Holt to start the sixth, then gave up a single to Jackie Bradley Jr. in the following at-bat.

He clamped down as the Red Sox tried to fight back against a 4-0 Rays lead. After getting Christian Vazquez to fly out, he walked Mookie Betts to load the bases with only one out. It was his first bases-loaded situation of the season, and a poised Chirinos maneuvered it without a hitch.

Chirinos struck out Andrew Benintendi, who entered the game with a .429 batting average against him, using a 96.8 mph sinker. He then escaped the inning run-free by getting Devers to swing through a third strike.

“You have to tip your cap to Chirinos,” Betts said. “He did a great job.”

Chirinos wasn’t focused on a potential perfect game or no-hitter as the game progressed, he said. Rather, he focused on one batter at a time. But after Bradley Jr. singled, he actually was able to settle in for the remainder of his eight-inning outing.

“Later on, eventually, you have it in the back of your mind,” Chirinos said, “but thankfully I was just thinking about going as long as I could. Once they got that hit, I actually got to relax a little bit more and then continue on pitching.”

Cash found it difficult to take Chirinos out of the game any earlier because of his efficiency. Chirinos, who retired the first 15 batters of the game, threw 62 of his 101 pitches for strikes. He finished the night with six strikeouts, two hits and two walks in his longest start of his big league career.

Chirinos’ outing also kept the Rays’ bullpen rested before it’s tested by a stretch of three games in two days with a doubleheader on Saturday.

“It certainly helps,” Cash said. “This offense is so taxing to try to go through -- bullpen, starter, whatever it is. You can’t ask for more to start it off.”

• Cash looks forward to Saturday's doubleheader

The Rays increased their lead over the Red Sox in the American League East to six games and sit a half-game back of the Yankees. Tampa Bay also improved to a Major League-best 21-9 on the road.

“[The Red Sox] didn’t have much chance tonight,” outfielder Kevin Kiermaier said. “[Chirinos] just had the sinker, the splitter, the slider going, and just had those guys off balance all night. He seemed like he left nothing over the heart of the plate all night. … That was about as impressive as I’ve seen him throw.”

Kiermaier fires up Rays’ offense
Kiermaier considered the series opener against the Red Sox as a must-win, so he did everything he could do to make sure the Rays left the park with one. The center fielder went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, including a solo home run in the ninth inning to cushion the Rays’ lead.

“They’re a good team, and Fenway -- this is a tough place to play, and you feel like you always can have your back against the wall up here,” Kiermaier said. “This crowd can get this team right back into games, and they just have a lot of talent over there regardless. For us to get the first game of four was big for us.”

Kiermaier has already matched his home run total of last season (seven) in his first 56 games of 2019. He has recorded four multi-RBI games in the past 14 contests, compared to just one multi-RBI game in his first 42 games of the season.