San Diego Padres

SAN DIEGO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Dylan Cease took a shutout into the seventh inning Sunday, while Luis Arraez delivered a two-run double to lead the San Diego Padres to a 6-2 win over the visiting Boston Red Sox.

In winning consecutive starts for the first time this year, Cease (5-10) permitted just four hits and two runs, walking two and striking out seven. It marked the first time since July 18 that Cease had pitched past the fifth inning.

Brayan Bello (8-6) absorbed the loss as he allowed five runs off six hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings, whiffing seven. All the runs came with two outs, including the pair Arraez knocked in to initiate scoring in the bottom of the third.

Bello was an out from facing the minimum through three innings when Freddy Fermin lined a two-out single into center. After Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch, Arraez drilled a pitch to left-center, just out of the reach of center fielder Jarren Duran, to score both runners.

Tatis made it 3-0 in the fifth by grounding an RBI single to left, just out of the reach of diving shortstop Trevor Story. It scored Jake Cronenworth, who blooped a one-out double down the left field line.

Xander Bogaerts upped the margin to 4-0 in the sixth by looping a run-scoring single to left to plate Manny Machado, who singled with one out and then stole second with two outs. Bello and reliever Chris Murphy combined to issue three straight walks, with Cronenworth cashing in Bogaerts on his free pass.

Boston scored its runs in the seventh after loading the bases with no outs. Romy Gonzalez’s potential double-play grounder was booted by Bogaerts to make it 5-2. The Red Sox re-filled the sacks with no outs, but relievers Jason Adam and Adrian Morejon combined to strike out the side.

Ryan O’Hearn capped the Padres’ scoring in the seventh with a sacrifice fly that chased home Tatis.

Arraez, Tatis and Fermin each collected two hits. Tatis reached base four times.

–Field Level Media

SAN DIEGO – (Wire Service Report) – Ramon Laureano’s RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning Saturday night lifted the San Diego Padres to a 5-4 win over the visiting Boston Red Sox.

Xander Bogaerts was placed on second to start the inning and reliever Garrett Whitlock (5-2) issued an intentional walk to Ryan O’Hearn. Laureano chopped the first pitch over the head of third baseman Alex Bregman and Bogaerts easily beat Roman Anthony’s throw home.

Jason Adam (7-3) stranded a pair of runners in the top of the 10th, inducing an inning-ending fielder’s choice grounder from Ceddanne Rafaela to earn the win.

Boston forced extra innings when Anthony slashed a ground-rule double to left-center off MLB saves leader Robert Suarez in the ninth that scored Rafaela. He legged out an infield hit to start the inning and swiped second.

San Diego went ahead in the fifth with two runs when Boston starter Lucas Giolito lost the strike zone, issuing four straight two-out walks after a leadoff single by Fernando Tatis Jr. Free passes to O’Hearn and Laureano drove in the tying and go-ahead runs.

Giolito allowed five hits and four runs in 4 2/3 innings, walking six and striking out one. San Diego starter Michael King lasted two-plus innings and 57 pitches, permitting two runs on four hits and two walks with a strikeout.

Making his first start since May 18 after a thoracic nerve issue sidelined him for nearly three months, King trailed 1-0 by the game’s third batter. Bregman lined the first of his two doubles and scored on Jarren Duran’s single to center.

Bogaerts evened the score in the second with his 10th homer, a liner into the seats in left that traveled an estimated 358 feet. The Red Sox regained the lead in the third with two runs as reliever Wandy Peralta balked home Bregman, who led off with his second double, and Masataka Yoshida’s fielder’s choice grounder scored Trevor Story.

The Padres got a run back in their half of the third as Bogaerts looped a two-out RBI single to center, scoring Luis Arraez.

–Field Level Media

SAN DIEGO – (Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida belted two-run homers and Walker Buehler tossed six scoreless innings as the visiting Red Sox stopped the San Diego Padres 10-2 on Friday night.

Buehler (7-6) allowed four hits and two walks while striking out four in arguably his best outing of the year. The former Los Angeles Dodger improved his career mark against San Diego to 7-1 with a 1.67 ERA in 13 starts.

Nick Pivetta (11-4) took his first home loss of the year, permitting five hits and five runs in six innings while walking three and fanning three.

It was the eighth win in nine games for Boston, which scored double-digit runs for an major-league-high 18th time this year. The Red Sox got started with four runs in the fourth, thanks to a lapse in control by Pivetta.

After Alex Bregman led off with a single, the Red Sox’s first hit, Pivetta walked Jarren Duran and Trevor Story. Yoshida’s sacrifice fly cashed in Bregman, and a throwing error by Pivetta on a pickoff attempt at first scored Duran. Abreu capped the inning with his 21st homer, a two-run shot over the wall in right-center.

Bregman’s groundout to third in the fifth inning scored Connor Wong for a 5-0 advantage. Wong broke the game open in the eighth by lining a bases-clearing double into the left field corner off reliever Sean Reynolds after three straight walks filled the sacks.

The Padres avoided a shutout with two runs in the bottom of the eighth against reliever Chris Murphy via an RBI fielder’s-choice grounder from Ramon Laureano and Jake Cronenworth’s run-scoring single.

Yoshida capped the scoring in the ninth by lining his second homer of the year to right with Story aboard after a leadoff walk. Boston’s patient hitters worked eight walks, five issued by Reynolds.

oshida, Wong and Roman Anthony each collected two of the Red Sox’s 10 hits. Cronenworth and Luis Arraez bagged two hits apiece for San Diego.

The Padres stranded 12 runners and managed only one hit in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position.

–Field Level Media

SAN DIEGO – (Wire Service Report) – Newcomers have already made a significant impact for San Diego, and they’ll aim to continue that trend as the Padres open a three-game home series against the Boston Red Sox.

Ramon Laureano has hit like a sledgehammer in his first week with the Padres, while Freddy Fermin has given them more offense from the catching position than they’ve had most of the year.

Mason Miller has made his presence felt on an already-deep San Diego bullpen, and Nestor Cortes gave them a decent start on Wednesday night.

Then Ryan O’Hearn, who came over with Laureano from Baltimore a week ago, made his first significant contribution to his new team with a ninth-inning homer that tied Wednesday night’s game in Arizona. The Padres added another run in the ninth to pull out a 3-2 win.

Prior to drilling his first homer off a left-handed pitcher this year, O’Hearn had just a single to show for his first 12 at-bats with San Diego. The American League’s starting designated hitter in the All-Star Game last month needed something good to happen.

“Just got to keep going, keep getting comfortable, keep grinding out at-bats and hopefully continue to contribute,” O’Hearn said. “To do something finally felt good.”

The Padres come into the series with nine wins in 11 games and have crawled within two games of the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.

They have also jumped over the New York Mets for the second wild-card spot and have drawn within 2 1/2 games of the Chicago Cubs for the first wild card, which opens the postseason at home.

San Diego will try to keep the momentum going behind Nick Pivetta (11-3, 2.73 ERA). He last pitched on Aug. 1, allowing just one hit and one run in seven innings of a 4-1 win over St. Louis. Pivetta, who walked none and fanned five that night, has permitted just one run in 13 innings in two previous starts against Boston, where he pitched the last 4 1/2 seasons.

The Red Sox will counter with Walker Buehler (6-6, 5.74 ERA), who was no-decisioned on Saturday in his team’s 7-3 victory over Houston. Buehler gave up nine hits and three runs in 4 1/3 innings, walking three and whiffing none — the first time this season he failed to record a strikeout. He’s 6-1 with a 1.80 ERA in 12 career starts against the Padres.

Boston manager Alex Cora said Buehler is better than he’s pitched this year. The former Dodger mainstay has permitted at least three earned runs in nine of his last 11 outings.

“This guy is too important for us,” Cora said. “He knows he’s better than this and we know he’s better than this.”

Buehler’s uneven performance has been one of the few problems lately for the Red Sox, who won seven straight games prior to Wednesday night’s 7-3 home loss to Kansas City.

Boston trails Toronto by four games in the American League East and owns the top wild-card spot by one game over Seattle.

The Red Sox’s trade of Rafael Devers to San Francisco in June, which was widely criticized by national media, has turned out to be addition by subtraction. Boston is 27-16 since the deal and is scoring more runs than it did with Devers while playing better defense.

San Diego won two of three games in last year’s series at Fenway Park.

–Field Level Media

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Rafael Devers collected two hits, including a two-run home run, to help the Red Sox avoid a three-game sweep by beating the visiting San Diego Padres 4-1 Sunday.

Devers hit his 18th home run of the season in the bottom of the first against Matt Waldron. Wilyer Abreu, who reached on a walk, also scored on the home run. The two-run homer gave Devers 600 career RBIs.

Devers has hit four home runs in his last five games. Abreu and Masataka Yoshida also had two hits for the Red Sox.

Jarren Duran added a solo home run for the Red Sox, who ended a three-game losing streak. It was his ninth home run of the season.

San Diego scored in the seventh on back-to-back doubles by Jackson Merrill and Ha-Seong Kim. Merrill had three hits in the loss, which ended San Diego’s five-game winning streak.

Josh Winckowski (2-1) earned the win for tossing five scoreless innings in his second appearance since being recalled from Triple-A. Winckowski allowed four hits, struck out one and didn’t walk a batter.

Waldron (5-7) gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits in 4 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out three.

Boston was outscored 20-3 in the first two games of the series. San Diego prevailed 9-2 Friday night and 11-1 Saturday. The Padres entered Sunday’s game with a 9-1 record in their last 10 games and had outscored their opponents by 29 runs during that stretch.

After Devers gave Boston a 2-0 advantage, the Red Sox extended their lead to 3-0 in the third. Abreu singled, took third on a Devers single and scored on a passed ball.

Duran’s home run stretched the lead to 4-0 in the fifth, before the Padres got on the scoreboard in the seventh.

–Field Level Media

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The visiting San Diego Padres will attempt to extend their winning streak to six games Sunday afternoon when they wrap up a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox. San Diego outscored Boston 20-3 in the first two games of the series. The Padres won 9-2 Friday night and 11-1 Saturday.

The Padres hit six home runs in their two victories against the Red Sox. Jackson Merrill has homered in each game, and Manny Machado homered twice in Saturday’s win. San Diego is 9-1 in its last 10 games, with 20 home runs.

The 16 hits the Padres collected in Saturday’s win were the most the Red Sox have given up in a game this season. The victory pushed the Padres five games over the .500 mark (46-41) for the first time this season.

“We’re just looking for continual improvement,” San Diego manager Mike Shildt said. “You get continual improvement, then you get all areas firing together and you get guys working together, communicating together and clearly playing together. A lot of quality at-bats. Manny and some other guys put some big swings on the baseball.

“When you have confidence in your whole roster and guys in the lineup, you don’t feel like you have to carry the proverbial mantle. It’s just a matter of taking your good at-bat, knowing the guy behind you is going to take a good at-bat, and you’re going to do it over and over again.”

The Padres scored nine runs in the fifth inning Friday night, and struck for six runs in the fifth inning Saturday.

Right-hander Matt Waldron (5-6, 3.43 ERA) is San Diego’s scheduled starting pitcher Sunday. Waldron, a knuckleballer, has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last nine starts. He has a 1.95 ERA during that stretch.

Sunday will be Waldron’s first career appearance against the Red Sox. Kyle Higashioka typically catches when Waldron is on the mound.

“The knuckleball is definitely an outlier pitch, because even if you know it’s coming, there’s no guarantee that you’re going to get one that’s good to hit,” Higashioka told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “It’s dancing out there like crazy. So regardless of whether you’re looking for it or not, if he throws the good one, it’s very unlikely that somebody’s going to really square it up.”

The Red Sox will go with right-hander Josh Winckowski (1-1, 3.26 ERA) on Sunday. Winckowski has a 1.69 ERA in three starts this season and a 4.12 ERA in 10 relief appearances. He pitched the final three innings to earn the save in a 6-1 victory over San Diego last season. That is his only appearance against the Padres.

The Red Sox have lost their last three games.

“It’s a good lineup, and they’re swinging the bats really, really well — putting up big numbers,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Hitting the ball out of the ballpark. That’s something they’ve been doing the last 10, 15 days. Hopefully tomorrow with (Winckowski), we can hold them down and we can get going offensively.”

Red Sox catcher Connor Wong carries a 15-game hitting streak into Sunday’s matchup.

–Field Level Media

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox will have right-hander Tanner Houck on the mound today when they attempt to end the visiting San Diego Padres’ four-game winning streak.

Houck (7-5, 2.18 ERA) began the season battling to win the fifth spot in Boston’s rotation but has quickly become the team’s ace. He leads the American League in ERA and has 101 strikeouts and 18 walks in 103 1/3 innings this season.

Houck credited much of his 2024 success to Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey, who suggested he overhaul his split-finger fastball.

“He came over and kind of gave me a few different grip ideas before camp,” Houck said on a recent NESN game telecast. “I took it and kind of ran with it. I feel incredibly comfortable with that pitch now. It’s something that I’ve known for years I’ve needed to develop and get better with, but ultimately I feel like that’s kind of been my biggest weapon this year that’s taken the most steps forward.”

Houck has pitched at least 5 2/3 innings in each of his 16 starts. Saturday — his 28th birthday — will be the first time he faces the Padres in his career.

Right-hander Michael King (5-5, 3.75 ERA) is San Diego’s scheduled starter. King, who was with the New York Yankees the previous five seasons, is 2-4 with a 5.20 ERA in 12 career appearances (two starts) against the Red Sox. He is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in five outings (one start) in Boston.

The Padres opened the three-game series with a 9-2 victory on Friday. San Diego did all of its scoring in the fifth inning, which included a two-run home run from Kyle Higashioka and a three-run home run from Jackson Merrill, who grew up rooting for the Red Sox.

“I don’t usually like to talk about something I do,” Merrill said. “I like talking about the wins and stuff. But that was probably the dopest moment of my baseball career.

“A nine-run inning. You can’t ask for anything better than that.”

SAN DIEGO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s left-hander Chris Sale held the Padres to two solo homers over seven innings and Enmanuel Valdez gave Sale a quick 3-0 lead with a three-run, second-inning homer as the visiting Red Sox scored a 4-2 victory in San Diego.

Sale allowed three hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. He threw 111 pitches (73 strikes) to improve to 4-2. Kenley Jansen, who blew his last two save opportunities, retired Brandon Dixon on a game-ending pop out to third after putting the tying runs on base with walks. It was Jansen’s 10th save.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox scored four runs on six hits, a walk and a hit batter against Padres starter Joe Musgrove, who had six strikeouts in five innings. Musgrove fell to 1-2.

Raimel Tapia triggered the Red Sox second-inning rally with a one-out single and moved to second when Musgrove hit Enrique Hernandez with a pitch. With Valdez at the plate, Tapia and Hernandez ran on a double steal. Tapia was originally called out at third for the second out in the inning. But Boston manager Alex Cora appealed and Tapia was ruled safe.

Valdez then launched a high, 374-foot drive to right on Musgrove’s third pitch for his third homer of the season.

Boston’s second successful appeal led to its fourth run in the fourth. Hernandez doubled leading off the inning, although he was originally called out on a throw by Jose Azocar. But the Red Sox appealed and Hernandez was ruled safe at second. He moved to third on a single by Connor Wong and scored on Alex Verdugo’s one-out single.

Juan Soto reduced Boston’s lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the second on his eighth homer of the season — a 409-foot drive to right center.

Fernando Tatis Jr. again reduced the Padres’ deficit to two runs with his seventh homer of the season on a full-count, 440-foot drive to left center in the sixth. Tatis’ homer was the ninth straight solo homer by the Padres.

Ha-Seong Kim followed the Tatis homer with a double — the Padres’ third and final hit.

–Field Level Media