The Boston Red Sox<\/a> win the series opener against the San Diego Padres<\/a> 5-2 on Friday afternoon at Fenway Park. Sonny Gray<\/a> was much improved from his Red Sox debut against the Cincinnati Reds<\/a>. He pitched six innings, gave up two runs, and allowed only four hits with three strikeouts.<\/p>\n The Red Sox scored three runs in the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie, with Willson Contreras<\/a> and Marcelo Mayer<\/a> notching their first home runs of the year.<\/p>\n It took until the third inning for the Red Sox to record their first hit. Fortunately, their follow-up was just as good. Marcelo Mayer<\/a> led off the third with a double off the Green Monster. Two batters later, Ceddanne Rafaela<\/a> hit a single up the middle to take a 1-0 lead.<\/p>\n After a 1-2-3 top of the fourth from Sonny Gray<\/a>, Jarren Duran<\/a> started the inning with another leadoff double. After strikeouts from Contreras and Wilyer Abreu<\/a>, Caleb Durbin<\/a> stepped to the plate to try and finally notch his first hit. He did just that, with a single up the middle to go up 2-0.<\/p>\n After Rafaela lost a ball in the sun, Miguel Andujar<\/a> got himself a triple in the top of the fifth. Gavin Sheets<\/a> came up next and lined a single to right field to cut the deficit to 2-1. Two batters later, Luis Campusano<\/a> hit a double off the Monster to tie the score at two.<\/p>\n Despite a one-out single from Roman Anthony<\/a>, Trevor Story<\/a> would ground into a 4-3 double play after a web gem diving play from Jake Cronenworth<\/a>. But Gray pitched phenomenally in the sixth inning, so it didn\u2019t translate to offensive momentum for the Padres.<\/p>\n Contreras took back the lead with a 423-foot home run off of Michael King<\/a> over the monster to take back the lead 3-2. Three batters later, with Abreu on first, Mayer came up to bat. Wandy Peralta<\/a> came in for the lefty-lefty matchup.<\/p>\n Unfortunately for the Padres, Mayer was keyed in on a low sinker. Mayer smacked the ball over the low right field fence and the outstretched glove of Fernando Tatis Jr<\/a>. for his first bomb of the season. This made the score 5-2 Red Sox through six innings.<\/p>\n From there, the Red Sox bullpen shut the Padres down in the last third of the game. Greg Weissert<\/a> notched his first scoreless outing in the seventh inning. Justin Slaten<\/a> did the same in the eighth. Finally, Aroldis Chapman<\/a>, despite walking Manny Machado<\/a> with two outs, got the save. Chapman moves to 11th all-time in career saves, breaking the 368-save tie with Jonathan Papelbon<\/a>.<\/p>\n Gray pitched just like how fans should\u2019ve expected him to pitch. Competitive innings, and giving the Sox offense a chance to take the lead. All the while giving the bullpen a chance to close it out.<\/p>\n Durbin was 0-for-19 entering his second at-bat of the game. After his RBI single in the fourth inning, Red Sox fans hope Durbin can return to his form from 2025.<\/p>\n Trevor Story<\/a> had himself another forgettable game, going 0-for-4 with a strikeout.<\/p>\n Connelly Early<\/a> and Randy Vasquez<\/a> will face off in Game Two of the series. That will take place on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nRed Sox-Padres Game Summary<\/h3>\n
Sixth Inning Surge<\/h3>\n
What Went Right for the Red Sox<\/h2>\n
Gray\u2019s Bounce Back<\/h3>\n
Durbin No Longer Hitless<\/h3>\n
What Went Wrong for the Red Sox<\/h2>\n
Story Still Slumping<\/h3>\n
Looking Ahead<\/h3>\n
Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>