Gray (17-5) was tagged with the loss in Friday's game against the Royals, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five across six innings.
All three of the runs Gray allowed came over the first three innings of Friday's start. The veteran right-hander was able to get through six innings on 90 pitches (60 strikes) for his 18th quality start of the season, tied for sixth-most in the majors, but he didn't receive enough run support from his Red Sox teammates to avoid the loss. It was Gray's second loss in three starts, but it has still been a strong season for the 37-year-old, whose 17 wins are tied with Cristopher Sanchez for most in the majors. Gray will take a 2.76 ERA and 1.17 WHIP over 156.2 innings into his next start, tentatively slated for next week on the road against the Rangers.