Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida belted two-run homers and Walker Buehler tossed six scoreless innings as the visiting Boston Red Sox stopped the San Diego Padres 10-2 on Friday.
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.
Yoshida, 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
