James Shields came within two outs of his 12th complete game this season, B.J. Upton hit his first grand slam and the Tampa Bay Rays routed the fading Boston Red Sox 9-1 on Sunday.
Tampa Bay moved within 3 1/2 games of the AL wild card leaders, sweeping the three-game series to go a season-high 17 games over .500 at 81-64. The Rays have won 21 games in a row when scoring five runs or more.
Boston has lost five consecutive games, its longest skid since opening the season 0-6, and nine of 11 overall. The teams play each other four more times, in a four-game series beginning Thursday at Fenway Park.
Shields (15-10), who has won four consecutive starts en route to his career-best 15th win, allowed seven hits over 8 1-3 innings.
