Padres on deck: A pitstop at home vs. Red Sox

Boston Red Sox at San Diego Padres

• Friday: 6:40 p.m. (Padres.TV)
• Saturday: 5:40 p.m. (Padres.TV, CBS)
• Sunday: 1:10 p.m. (Padres.TV)

In the standings

Boston Red Sox (64-52, 2nd in AL East)

The Red Sox have won eight of their last 10 games to pull within four games of the division-leading Blue Jays and move 2½ games ahead of the Yankees. Boston is current the No. 1 wild-card team in the AL. The Red Sox lost two of three last year in Boston to the Padres.

San Diego Padres (64-51, 2nd in NL West)

The Padres have also won eight of 10, moving to within two games of the Dodgers in the division. The Padres are also the No. 2 wild-card team in the NL, 2½ games behind the No. 1 Cubs and one game ahead of the No. 3 Mets. The Padres are back on the road to face the Giants and Dodgers after this three-game homestand.

Trending

Boston: The Red Sox rank fourth in the majors with a plus-81 run differential, sixth in OPS (.753), 13th in rotation ERA (3.95) and fifth in bullpen ERA (3.38). SS Trevor Story is hitting .476/.542/.714 with a homer and eight RBIs in six games this month. OF Romy Gonzalez (.381/.409/.714) also has an OPS over 1.000 since the trade deadline. Rookie OF Roman Anthony signed an eight-year, $130 million extension this week. He is hitting .276/.392/.417 with two homers, two steals and 19 RBIs in 47 games to start his career.

San Diego: The Padres rank 12th with a plus-38 run differential, 22nd in OPS, 17th in starter ERA (4.02) and first in bullpen ERA (2.99). New OF Ramón Laureano leads the team with a 1.024 OPS in six games since the trade deadline, followed by C Freddy Fermin (1.000), SS Xander Bogaerts (.971) and OF Jackson Merrill (.911). Bogaerts has two homers this month, while OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (.412 OPS) has been cold since the trade deadline.

Pitching matchups

Monday

Red Sox RHP Walker Buehler (6-6, 5.74 ERA)   |   A 5.89 FIP would be his highest since his rookie season in 2017 (5.94) if the season ended today. Buehler has also 19 homers, one shy of his career high in 2019 (3.26 ERA) through just 94 innings, he’s most since 2021. Buehler has a 1.80 ERA in 12 career starts against the Padres, but he allowed four runs in 8 ⅓ innings in two regular-season starts last year with the Dodgers and six runs in five innings in the Dodgers’ Game 3 loss in the NLDS.

Padres RHP Nick Pivetta (11-3, 2.73 ERA)   |   He’s making his first start against the Red Sox after pitching for them for parts of five seasons. Pivetta rejected a qualifying offer after the season, clearing the way for the Padres to sign him away from Boston in February. He has allowed one run or less in six of his last seven starts (1.01 ERA) and is 7-0 with a 1.99 ERA in 12 starts at Petco Park.

Saturday

Red Sox RHP Lucas Giolito (8-2, 3.57 ERA)   |   A first-round pick in 2012, Giolito has struck out 81 in 95⅔ innings (1.19 WHIP) since returning from the brace procedure, a Tommy John alternative, that wiped out all of 2024. His 2.5 walks per nine innings is well below his career rate (3.3). Giolito has allowed two runs over his last 14 innings, both victories. His only start against the Padres was all the way back in 2016 (3⅓ IP, 4 ER).

Padres RHP Michael King (4-2, 2.59 ERA)   |   He’s making his first start since mid-May after a nerve issue sent him to the injured list. King made his lone rehab start on Sunday at Triple-A El Paso, throwing 61 pitches while allowing six rounds on four hits, a walk and a hit batter in 3 ⅓ innings. King will likely have a pitch count of around 80. He has a 4.54 ERA in 33 ⅔ career innings against the Red Sox, but mostly as a reliever before beating them with six innings of one-run ball last year in Boston.

Sunday

Red Sox RHP Brayan Bello (8-5, 3.03 ERA)   |   The 26-year-old is in the midst of his best season to date as far as ERA goes, but his strikeout rate has dropped to 6.8 per nine innings, the lowest of his career. He has allowed one run over his last 13 innings, both wins. Bello has a 2.88 ERA in six starts this year away from Fenway Park. This will be Bello’s first appearance against the Padres.

Padres RHP Dylan Cease (4-10, 4.60 ERA)   |   He struck out nine over five shutout innings of one-hit ball in his last start after sticking with the Padres at the trade deadline. Cease has a 3.15 ERA in four starts since the All-Star break and has a 3.67 ERA at home compared to 5.52 away from Petco Park. He has a 6.85 ERA in five career starts against Boston, but hasn’t faced them since striking out 11 over seven shutout innings in 2023 while still with the White Sox.

Team leaders

• OPS: Red Sox—OF Jarren Duran (.792), OF Ceddanne Rafaela (.753), SS Trevor Story (.735); Padres—3B Manny Machado (.859), 1B Ryan O’Hearn (.828), OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (.798).
• HRs: Red Sox—OF Wilyer Abreu (20), Story (18), Rafaela (14), 3B Alex Bregman (14); Padres—Machado (20), Tatis (17), OF Ramón Laureano (16).
• RBIs: Red Sox—Story (73), Duran (64), Abreu (62); Padres—Machado (72), Sheets (54), Laureano (51).
• Steals: Red Sox—Story (19), Duran (18), 2B David Hamilton (17); Padres—Tatis (22), SS Xander Bogaerts (17), Machado (10).
• Saves: Red Sox—LHP Aroldis Chapman (21-for-23, 1.21 ERA); Padres—RHP Robert Suarez (32-for-36, 3.17 ERA), RHP Mason Miller (21-for-25, 3.92 ERA).
• Holds: Red Sox—RHP Greg Weissert (16, 2.81 ERA), RHP Garrett Whitlock (16, 2.91 ERA), LHP Justin Wilson (15, 2.83 ERA); Padres—RHP Jason Adam (27, 1.78 ERA), RHP Jeremiah Estrada (24, 2.61 ERA), LHP Adrián Morejón (16, 2.05 ERA).

Training room

Boston: 3B Marcelo Mayer, an Eastlake High product, is on the 10-day injured list with a right wrist sprain. He hopes to avoid surgery and play again this season, perhaps in September. C Carlos Narvaez is day-to-day with a knee issue. RHP Justin Slaten (shoulder) could return this month, while RHP Liam Hendriks (hip) hopes to return before the end of the season. 1B Tristan Casas (knee), RHP Kutter Crawford (knee, wrist) and RHP Tanner Houck (flexor) are among the Red Sox that won’t return until next season.

San Diego: With RHP Michael King (shoulder/nerve) expected back from the injured list on Saturday, the only Padres on the injured list are RHPs Joe Musgrove (Tommy John) and RHP Jhony Brito (UCL). Musgrove is back to throwing bullpens in hopes of making himself available out of the bullpen in the postseason. Brito underwent his procedure early this season and won’t return until next year.