Padres vs. Red Sox: Boston Targets Series Victory with Game 9 Lineups

Mo. Basuony

Published: April 5, 2026 4:52 PM ET

Padres vs. Red Sox: Boston Targets Series Victory with Game 9 Lineups

The Padres will hand the ball to right-hander Walker Buehler. He is a former Red Sox pitcher who struggled in 2025 and was released in August.

Lineups and game details

First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. at Fenway Park. The game will air on NESN, with radio coverage on WEEI-FM 93.7.

Padres (3-5): Laureano LF, Tatis Jr. RF, Merrill CF, Machado 3B, Andujar DH, Bogaerts SS, Castellanos 1B, Cronenworth 2B, Campusano C.
Padres starter: RHP Walker Buehler (0-1, 6.75 ERA).
Red Sox (2-6): Anthony DH, Story SS, Duran CF, Contreras 1B, Abreu RF, Yoshida LF, Durbin 3B, Mayer 2B, Narváez C.
Red Sox starter: LHP Ranger Suarez (0-1, 8.31 ERA).

Matchups to watch

Game-day matchups offer useful clues to managers. The following head-to-head numbers show recent results versus each starter.

Padres vs. Suarez: Miguel Andujar 2-6, Xander Bogaerts 4-10, Luis Campusano 0-3.
Additional Padres vs. Suarez: Nick Castellanos 0-0, Jake Cronenworth 0-7, Freddy Fermin 1-2.
More vs. Suarez: Ty France 0-3, Bryce Johnson 1-2, Ramón Laureano 0-2, Manny Machado 2-13.
Also: Jackson Merrill 3-8, Gavin Sheets 0-3, Fernando Tatis Jr. 4-13.
Red Sox vs. Buehler: Willson Contreras 3-15, Isiah Kiner-Falefa 0-2, Trevor Story 7-35.

Context and trends

Buehler posted a 5.45 ERA in 23 appearances, including 22 starts, for Boston in 2025. He was released in August before joining the Padres.

Boston has scored two runs or fewer in four of eight games so far. The team sits at a major league-worst 2-6.

Recent events

San Diego won Saturday’s game by a 3-2 score. Ramón Laureano delivered a two-out RBI single in the ninth inning.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora praised Laureano’s clutch hit and said Boston must regroup to take the series. Boston has lost all three of its one-run games this season.

Pitcher backgrounds

Suarez is 3-1 with a 2.39 ERA in eight career appearances against the Padres. He has five starts in that span.

He posted back-to-back seasons with double-digit wins. In 2025 he recorded a career-high 151 strikeouts in 157 1/3 innings with the Phillies.

Buehler’s only career start against Boston came in the 18-inning Game 3 of the 2018 World Series. He started that game and went seven scoreless innings.