Utah Uses Franchise's First Pick On Iginla's Son
BOSTON -- — Jackson Merrill hit a three-run homer and Kyle Higashioka added a two-run shot in a nine-run fifth inning, leading the San Diego Padres to a 9-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.
“That was the most dope moment ever,” said Merrill, who grew up a Red Sox fan and was playing his first game at Fenway Park. “I don’t usually like to talk about what I do. I like to talk about the wins, but that was probably the dopest moment. I’ve watched so many games here, growing up a big Red Sox fan, to come in and hit a homer, that’s an unreal feeling."
The Padres sent 13 batters to the plate in the fifth, with nine scoring on eight hits and two walks. The first nine batters reached base safely. Every batter in the Padres starting lineup had at least one hit and scored a run.
The nine runs scored matches the most in an inning for the Padres this season. They also scored nine runs in the eighth inning on May 31 against the Kansas City Royals. The nine runs allowed surpassed Boston’s previous season high of seven runs scored by the Toronto Blue Jays in the third inning on Tuesday.
“A lot going on,” Padres manager Mike Schildt said of the fifth inning. “We talk about, you can never have enough runs. So, we stay hungry to get more. We want to continue to add on as much as possible all the time.”
After Nick Pivetta (4-5) gave up four hits — including Higashioka’s ninth homer of the season — and a walk to open the fifth, he was replaced by Greg Weissert, who gave up four straight hits including two-run singles to Jake Cronenworth and Donovan Solano and Merrill’s 11th homer of the season.
“The sweeper didn’t perform in that inning,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Pivetta’s pitch. “Just wasn’t able to execute and everything happened so fast. I’m usually not that aggressive bringing in the bullpen, but I wanted to give them a different look with the lefty there. It was still early in the game.”
Pivetta called his outing "dissatisfying.”
“I was hanging pitches in the middle of the zone and they took advantage of it because they’re a good baseball team," he said.
Right-hander Randy Vásquez started for the Padres and went four-plus innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk with one strikeout. He was replaced by Wandy Peralta after Ceddanne Rafaela’s comebacker hit him on his pitching arm and he suffered a forearm contusion.
“Thankfully, X-rays negative, no fracture or anything. Got him in the forearm pretty good,” Schildt said. “That was a shame because this guy was pitching really well.”
Right-hander Stephen Kolek (2-0) threw two scoreless innings, giving up a hit with two strikeouts.
Connor Wong’s two-out single scored Wilyer Abreu from second base in the fourth to give Boston a 1-0 lead. Rafael Devers hit his 17th home run of the season in the sixth.
Xander Bogaerts, who won two World Series titles in his 10 seasons in Boston, received a standing ovation from the Fenway crowd after the Red Sox showed a video tribute before the second inning. It was his first time back since signing with the Padres as a free agent in December 2022.
ROSTER MOVES
The Red Sox reinstated C Connor Wong from the paternity list and called up LHP Bailey Horn from Triple-A Worcester. C Tyler Heineman and RHP Isaiah Campbell were optioned to Worcester on Thursday.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Padres: LHP Tom Cosgrove was placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 27, with left elbow inflammation. LHP Austin Davis was called up from Triple-A El Paso to take his spot on the roster. … RHP Joe Musgrove, out since May 29 with right elbow inflammation, was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Padres continue their three-game series on Saturday. RHP Tanner Houck (7-5, 2.18 ERA) is scheduled to start for Boston, opposed by RHP Michael King (5-5, 3.75).
------
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
ARTS SoupKitchen AndrewDressner 1000s Attachment Soup 1 ?w=1200&h=0&zc=1&s=0&a=t&q=89Beef Bowl ?w=600&h=400&s=1Photo0jpg ?w=600&h=400&s=1Ham Turkey And Roast ?w=600&h=400&s=1Sauerkraut Soup ?w=500&h=400&s=1Photo0jpg ?w=600&h=400&s=1Italian Sandwich ?w=600&h= 1&s=1Img 20190413 195514 030 ?w=600&h= 1&s=1Abc35af2f281e68467e48dcab5307dac Photo0jpg ?w=600&h=400&s=1Photo0jpg ?w=600&h=400&s=1Exterior Entrance ?w=600&h=400&s=1Photo0jpg ?w=600&h=400&s=162bc5d03754ae0441b29bf50?ops=contain(1480,0)1089366c B371 4f20 Aa10 F2604d9d335b Really Good Soup ?w=600&h=400&s=124805213 XSm JfRNF5TuTJQwc29WUj7M4a EBnFkNudY4xs8R00 20200124 113252 Largejpg ?w=1000&h=700&s=12d0c9d3e 6b50 4423 8b30 1063256dd551 Thesoupshop2 1024x768 Pho 960x559 JdK T1PwabyJlZ L70fXfXy Q1gizsiQNqkiOmKI42T2MxNZGHOSBf8Tzm DjIV34bTQVlY8JN4R7xwDCUYd0PajLZzeNWYk06TfuE1598615637000?e=2147483647&v=beta&t=W0X1jETQufuXEG Uf H5 QBlp9vXH0u3oI8NoMWT2 MA3807 E1678352275544 Msms 1 ?w=1024&ssl=1Ramen 20181203 Lirette033 Caption ?w=500&h=400&s=116445a609275d2da0ef8dbb73a38c5e8 Vd Drw 02 .webp?itok= KO52VkfTDP L DIABLA AAO2544xx ?fit=1860%2C9999px&ssl=1Soup Kitchens In Denver Colorado 480x270 A34a19de Cd84 4e61 857a 531af24a96fd 5.SOUPS Menu French Onion Soup 1024x764 .webp