Sonny Gray didn’t have his best Sunday, but he battled to be a part of another Red Sox victory

A dejected Sonny Gray took the podium after surrendering four walks and an inside-the-park home run on Sunday.

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“A little rusty, but that’s OK,” Gray said after his first start since July 10. “I have a week to dial it back and get it back together, and just have one good day.”

Oh, it’s worth mentioning the Red Sox won their 13th straight game, 6-1. Gray recorded his ninth consecutive quality start of the season, and the inside-the-parker — a wonky line drive that found its way under the center-field padding — was the only run he surrendered all game.

Those factoids, nor the series sweep over the Rays, weren’t enough to appease the veteran righthander.

“I think we made some great plays. [I] was able to keep the ball on the ground, a double play turned big, but I know what I did today is not sustainable,” Gray said. “You’re not going to go and walk four and do that. And I know that.”

But what went wrong? Simply put, he was off. It was a gray day, especially at the start of the game.

“There was times where he didn’t feel his spin was there,” interim manager Chad Tracy explained. “As far as strike-throwing, obviously not his best.”

Gray’s spin rate dropped on all but his changeup, and his velocity dropped across the board, with his four-seam fastball going from an average of 91.8 miles per hour this season to 90.4 on Sunday.

Still, he wasn’t painfully off in either statistic, but his 54 percent strike rate, and moments like the third inning — when he had to battle back after walking Cedric Mullins and giving up a double to Chandler Simpson — put things in perspective.

That doesn’t change the end result.

“Just as a pro does, he got through the outing and gave us six great innings,” Tracy said. “So it was a gutsy outing.”

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That’s sports. Sometimes a player doesn’t have his best, but can find a way. That especially rings true for a veteran, and even more so when they play for a team that can’t seem to do any wrong.

Gray leaned on that mentality Sunday.

“I said that in my head a lot today. . . . ‘Hey you don’t have your [expletive] right now, and that’s OK,‘ ” Gray said. “‘Your boys have picked you up, you have a lead, but just pitch to win this game, at this moment, right now.’ ”

Winning doesn’t stop Gray from holding himself accountable. He acknowledged he needs to and “will be better.” He added he has a plan to do so, but declined to say what that plan entails, for obvious reasons.

One could guess it has something to do with pitching more like he has the rest of the season.

Sunday’s win was Gray’s league-leading 12th, with 90 strikeouts and a 1.12 WHIP on the season. With another quality start, he’ll tie his career best streak in that category, which came in 2014. His 91.7 win percentage and 2.54 ERA are both on pace for his best.

To his displeasure, he didn’t get an All-Star nod, but his value is clear. Look back a month ago, when the 36-year-old said he’d be “open for a conversation” on waiving his no-trade clause when it looked as though the Red Sox would be sellers at the trade deadline.

It’s safe to say a move is off the table at this point.

Even though it wasn’t his best day, Gray’s been a large part of the pitching staff that’s kept the team red hot.

But it seems that may not be because of his numbers, nor his meticulous preparation, or that he’ll cut it straight with himself. It’s because above all else, he knows just one thing truly matters.

“Whatever you have that day as a team, you just play to win the game. Whatever the game calls for,” Gray said.

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