Jackson Merrill hit a three-run home run and Kyle Higashioka followed with a two-run blast in a nine-run fifth inning, helping the Padres to a 9-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Padres starter Randy Vásquez (2-4, 4.88) went 4 1/3 innings, allowing one run on five hits and a strikeout with one walk. He had to exit the game after getting hit by a comebacker on his pitching arm in the fifth inning.
Stephen Kolek (2-0) threw two shutout innings, surrendering one hit while striking out two batters, earning the win.
Every batter in the San Diego starting lineup had at least one hit and one run scored. The Padres sent 13 batters to the plate in the fifth, scoring nine runs on eight hits and two walks.
San Diego (45-41) won its fourth straight and has moved four games above .500 for the first time this season.
9-run fifth
The Padres were losing 1-0 in the fifth inning when Ha-Seong Kim led off. About twenty minutes later, when Kim came around to bat again, it was still the fifth inning and there were still no outs and it was 9-1.
After Nick Pivetta (4-5) gave up four hits, including Higashioka’s ninth homer, and a walk, he was replaced by Greg Weissart, who gave up four straight hits including two-run singles to Jake Cronenworth and Donovan Solano and Merrill’s three-run 407-foot blast.
The nine runs matched the most in an inning for the Padres this season.
Another Padres pitcher hurt
Vásquez was struck by a 97.6 mph line drive off the bat of Ceddanne Rafaela in the fifth. The ball hit Vásquez hard in his right forearm and he exited the game with the team trainer.
This is another blow to the pitching staff. Yu Darvish was placed on the IL in May, Tom Cosgrove is on the 15-day IL with left elbow inflammation and Joe Musgrove was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL recently.
Welcome back, Bogaerts
Second baseman Xander Borgaerts returned to Fenway Park for the first time since signing with San Diego in 2022. Bogaerts played for the Red Sox for nearly a decade and won two World Series titles.
A special moment for Xander Bogaerts in his return to Fenway Park pic.twitter.com/uQo2fOYfYf
— Talking Friars (@TalkingFriars) June 28, 2024
Bogaerts is sidelined with a left shoulder fracture sustained May 20 in Atlanta.
The Padres will face the Boston Red Sox at 1:10 p.m. Saturday as they continue their three-game series. Right-hander Michael King (5-5, 3.75 ERA) will pitch against Red Sox right-hander Tanner Houck (7-5, 2.18).