Series Preview: Padres at Red Sox for Opening Day at Fenway

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 3: The Boston Red Sox and the Pittsburgh Pirates lineup for the national anthem before the opening day game at Fenway Park on April 3, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) | Getty Images We made it to Opening Day. It was hard to get here, literally.

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We made it to Opening Day. It was hard to get here, literally. A 1-5 record before setting foot in front of the Green Monster is not what Red Sox Nation waited all winter to see. Already the winnable games in Cincinnati look like missed opportunities compared to the series in Houston. But now the Sox are back in Boston! A new Opening Day, a new beginning. Except for the record. That stays. The San Diego Padres will do their best to add to the misery, but at 2-4 things haven’t gone that much better

for the Friars record wise.

If you’re reading this and headed to the ballpark make sure to get to your seats by 1:30 PM ahead of a 2:10 PM first pitch. They always put on a show for the Opening Day festivities.

Michael King will get things started for the Padres coming in off a 5-inning 1-run, 4-walk, 6-strikeout game against the Detroit Tigers. King had a big 2024 to begin his Padres career but injuries shortened his season last year to just 15 starts. He’s opposed by Sonny Gray, making his second start for Boston. His debut in Cincinnati was rather underwhelming, but with a 5:1 K:BB he was in line with this recent numbers and just needs to give up fewer hits and he can control the game.

Randy Vásquez gets the call on Saturday. Another product of the Juan Soto trade (along with Friday’s starter Michael King), the 27-year-old righty made 26 starts last year and 20 the year before that. He held the Tigers scoreless for 6.0 innings with an 8:3 K:BB which might have you raise an eyebrow based on the Astros carving up Boston like a turkey. However, his career K/9 is just 5.9, and was 5.3 in 2025. So maybe his luck is about to run out. Connelly Early held the Reds to 5 hits and 1 run over 5.1 innings in his 2026 debut. Hopefully they don’t still need a stopper on Saturday but if that’s the situation the kid has impressed since the start of Spring Training.

Closing things out for San Diego is old friend Walker Buehler. The less said about his time in Boston the better. He faced the San Francisco Giants in his lone start of the year so far and lasted just 4.0 innings. He struck out 3, allowed 3 runs, and walked 2. Ranger Suárez will pitch the finale for Boston and, like many of the pitchers listed here, is looking for a turnaround. Venezuela winning the WBC may have hurt his preparation as he faced an abnormal spring innings buildup, and the Padres on paper still have some big bat,s but maybe that’s the challenge he’s been looking for.

One thing about the Padres rotation for the weekend: they’re all righties. Which for a lefty-heavy lineup can’t hurt when you are looking for an edge to jump start the offense. So far the load-bearing Wilyer Abreu has been providing a lot of the offense but maybe others will take the opportunity to jump on the bandwagon.