The San Diego Padres secured an 8-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox in a rainy series finale at Fenway Park. Manny Machado hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning, and Jackson Merrill added a go-ahead blast in the eighth. The win marked the Padres' first series victory of the season.
San Diego trailed 4-0 early after starter Walker Buehler lasted just 2 2/3 innings. The Padres rallied in the fourth, with Jackson Merrill singling home a run and Nick Castellanos delivering a two-run single in his first career start at first base. Machado then put them ahead with a three-run homer in the fifth, though Boston tied it later. Merrill, a childhood Red Sox fan, won it with a homer into the Green Monster seats in the eighth. Gavin Sheets added an insurance run with a double in the ninth, and Mason Miller earned his fourth save by striking out the side. The Padres entered Sunday tied for last in the majors with 24 runs over eight games, three homers, and a .291 slugging percentage. Machado emphasized their process-oriented approach despite slow offensive starts. “Overall, we’ve been having good at-bats as a team,” Machado said. “We just continued to do that today.” Jackson Merrill agreed, calling the team unlucky early on. “Yeah, I think we’ve been very unlucky,” he said. “We’ve had good at-bats, hit balls hard, they’ve just not been going where we want them to go.” Manager Craig Stammen praised the depth, noting contributions from role players like Castellanos. “We get those three guys moving the baseball the way they did today, we’re going to score a few runs,” he said of Machado, Merrill, and Xander Bogaerts. The eight runs and 12 hits were season highs for San Diego.
