SAN DIEGO — Chris Sale dominated again and Enmanuel Valdez belted a three-run homer to lead the Red Sox to a 4-2 win over the Padres on Saturday at Petco Park.
Sale pitched 7 innings. He allowed two runs, three hits and one walk while striking out eight. Both runs came on solo homers. Juan Soto and Fernando Tatís Jr. took him deep.
Sale has a 2.30 ERA (27 ⅓ innings, seven runs) in his past four starts.
Related: Mobile sports betting is live in Massachusetts on BetMGM. Get started with $200 in bonus bets
Chris Sale escapes sixth inning jam
Sale gave up a leadoff homer to Fernando Tatis Jr. that cut the Red Sox’s lead to 4-2.
Ha-Seong Kim, the next batter, doubled down the line.
But Sale retired Xander Bogaerts on a lineout to right field, then struck out both Juan Soto and Nelson Cruz swinging to strand Kim at third base and keep the score at 4-2.
Soto and Cruz both punched out on 82.9 mph sliders.
Sale returned for the seventh and retired the side in order. He threw 111 pitches, one more pitch than in his previous start.
Kiké Hernández makes sliding play
Shortstop Kiké Hernández made an excellent play ranging to his right to end the third inning. He made a sliding stop in the hole on Fernando Tatís Jr.’s grounder and then fired a one-hopper from the outfield grass to first baseman Triston Casas for the out.
Hernández also made a strong play to his right to end the seventh inning.
Enmanuel Valdez homers
The Red Sox took a 3-0 lead against righty Joe Musgrove in the second inning.
Raimel Tapia singled and Hernández reached on a hit by pitch. After a double steal, rookie Enmanuel Valdez belted a three-run homer that traveled 374 feet with a 101.4 mph exit velocity.
Juan Soto’s 409-foot homer off Sale in the second cut San Diego’s deficit to 3-1.
Alex Verdugo put the Red Sox ahead 4-1 in the fourth with an RBI single.
Massachusetts online sports betting is live. Learn more about the top sportsbook operators in Mass. such as FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM to find the best offers available.