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Game Recap: Red Sox Bats Come Alive, Win Home Opener Over Padres

Originally posted on Inside The Diamonds
By Chris Lavallee | Last updated Apr 3, 2026 6:58 PM ET

The San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox played the first game of their three-game series today. Sonny Gray got the ball for the Red Sox, making his Fenway Park debut. Michael King got the ball for the Padres.

San Diego Padres Starting Lineup

RF – Fernando Tatis
SS – Xander Bogaerts
CF – Jackson Merrill
3B – Manny Machado
LF – Ramon Laureano
DH – Miguel Andujar
1B – Gavin Sheets
2B – Jake Cronenworth
C – Luis Campusano

RHP – Michael King

Boston Red Sox Starting Lineup

DH – Roman Anthony
SS – Trevor Story
LF – Jarren Duran
1B – Willson Contreras
RF – Wilyer Abreu
3B – Caleb Durbin
2B – Marcelo Mayer
C – Carlos Narváez
CF – Ceddanne Rafaela

RHP – Sonny Gray

Padres vs. Red Sox

First Three

Sonny Gray, making his first start as a member of the Red Sox at Fenway Park, had a much different first inning this time around compared to his first Red Sox start, throwing only 8 pitches and getting the Padres to go down in order. Michael King threw only ten pitches in the first, retiring the Red Sox in order. The second was silent. In the third, after a leadoff single from Gavin Sheets, he stole second, but Gray stranded him. The Red Sox got on the board first after a one-out double from Marcelo Mayer; Ceddanne Rafaela drove him home with a single. Rafaela advanced to second on the play. King got the last two outs.

Middle Three

Gray set the Padres down in order. In the bottom half, the Red Sox added to their lead. Jarren Duran doubled, then King got back-to-back strikeouts. Caleb Durbin broke out of his slump with an RBI single, bringing home Duran. Mayer would then reach on a catcher’s interference. The Padres ended the fourth with a Carlos Narváez strikeout. Gray got an out, but Ceddanne Rafaela lost a fly ball from Miguel Andujar, which resulted in a triple. Gavin Sheets drove him home with an RBI single to make it 2-1. The Padres would tie it in the fifth as Luis Campusano put one off the Green Monster with Sheets on the move, and he would score to make it 2-2.

The Red Sox bats exploded in the sixth inning, first with a Willson Contreras solo home run. Wilyer Abreu followed Contreras with a single, then Durbin struck out before Marcelo Mayer hit a two-run home run hit first of the season. The Mayer home run made it 5-2 before the Padres got out of the inning.

Last Three

Greg Weissert got the seventh, ending Gray’s Red Sox home debut. The Padres went down 1-2-3. The Red Sox went down in order as well. Justin Slaten got the eighth for Boston, and he followed Weissert, sending San Diego down in order. The Red Sox once again also went down 1-2-3. Aroldis Chapman came in for the ninth in a save situation. He allowed a two-out walk to Manny Machado, but that would be it as the Red Sox snapped a five-game skid.

Player of the Game

Marcelo Mayer. Mayer had a huge day going 2-2 at the plate with two runs scored, two RBI, a double, and the two-run home run.

Next Up:

The Red Sox and Padres play the middle game of their three-game series tomorrow, with first pitch set for 4:10 PM EST. Connelly Early will get the ball for the Red Sox while Randy Vasquez goes for the Padres.

This article first appeared on Inside The Diamonds and was syndicated with permission.

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