The Padres enter the upcoming series with the Red Sox having lost nine of their past 11 games, and are coming off a frustrating tilt with the Royals. On the other side, Boston has lost six of their last nine contests after snapping off an eight-game win streak to start the month of May. Still, even at four games above .500, the Red Sox are currently the bottom team in a hyper-competitive AL East.
In the NL West, the Padres are only above the Colorado Rockies. With San Diego now behind San Francisco, Arizona and Los Angeles at the top (8.0 GB), the Padres already have plenty of ground to cover over the remainder of the regular season.
Worth mentioning, this will be the third consecutive series between the Friars and the Bo’ Sox hosted at Petco Park (also in 2019, 2016); San Diego has not traveled to Fenway Park in a decade (July 2013).
Game 1 (Fri. May 19) – 6:40 p.m. PST – LHP James Paxton (0-0) vs. LHP Blake Snell (1-5).
James Paxton has faced San Diego only three times throughout his career, going 1-1. His lone win over the Friars came back in 2015. Worth mentioning, Paxton is in his second start after missing all of 2022, finally returning from a lengthy Tommy John rehab.
Blake Snell has done well against Boston in his career, sporting a 7-3 record and 2.59 ERA through 12 starts as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays (last occurring in 2020). Still, Snell has not faced the Red Sox since joining the Padres.
Game 2 (Sat. May 20) – 7:10 p.m. PST – LHP Chris Sale (3-2) vs. RHP Joe Musgrove (1-1).
Chris Sale has only made one lifetime start against San Diego, which happened to be a masterful complete game two-hit shutout way back in 2014. Joe Musgrove is 0-1 in two starts versus Boston in his career.
Game 3 (Sun. May 21) – 1:10 p.m. PST – RHP Corey Kluber (2-5) vs. RHP Michael Wacha (4-1).
Corey Kluber is 1-1 against the Friars in two head-to-head meetings, both coming when he was with Cleveland. On the contrary, Michael Wacha is 1-1 against the Red Sox in three starts.
Padres’ record against Boston
2019: 1-2
2016: 1-2
All-time: 7-14
