One year after pitching for the Boston Red Sox, Nick Pivetta found himself pitching against them.
On Friday, Pivetta faced the Red Sox for the first time since joining the San Diego Padres last winter. The veteran righty — who pitched for Boston from 2020 to 2024 — struggled against his former teammates, enduring one of his worst outings of the season.
Pivetta, who’d allowed just five earned runs over his previous seven starts, surrendered the same number of earned runs in six innings on Friday night. The NL Cy Young contender traded zeroes with Walker Buehler for three innings before unraveling in the middle frames, yielding four runs in the fourth and another in the fifth.
Pivetta completed the sixth before departing, but the five earned runs were his most in an outing since June 4, raising his ERA from 2.73 to 2.94. He allowed five hits — including a two-run homer to Wilyer Abreu — and three walks while striking out three, matching his lowest K total of the season.
Meanwhile, Buehler was fantastic for the Red Sox, putting his recent struggles behind him and continuing his mastery of the Padres. He fired six shutout innings against his old rivals, lowering his ERA to 5.40 and earning his first win since July 5.
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In 13 starts against San Diego, Buehler is 7-1 with a 1.67 ERA — his lowest ERA against any opponent that he’s faced more than once.
After breaking the game open against Pivetta, Boston kept tacking on against the Padres’ bullpen. The Red Sox added three runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth, scoring double-digit runs for the first time in August en route to a 10-2 win.
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Boston improved to 65-52 with the win — its third straight road victory. The Red Sox have now won eight of their last nine games and 10 of their last 11.
Boston will look to stay hot on Saturday night behind Lucas Giolito (8-2, 3.57 ERA), who’s shooting for his third straight win. San Diego will try to bounce back and even the series behind Michael King (4-2, 2.59 ERA), who’s making his first start since May 18 after missing nearly three months with a long thoracic nerve issue.
Featured image via Denis Poroy/Imagn Images
