It also will be the first time Xander Bogaerts plays at Fenway since the Red Sox gave him the Jon Lester treatment in 2022 with a lowball contract offer during spring training that led to his departure as a free agent.
Sox fans will be happy to see Bogaerts, if only to be reminded of the two World Series he helped win. Those were the days when the Sox did more than talk about how much they wanted to win; they backed it up, filling roster holes with high-end talent.
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Now it’s more of a balancing act and hoping that unproven players develop and mismatched pieces fit together. It hasn’t worked so far. The Sox have lost five in a row and were outscored by 18 runs in those games.
The run-prevention Red Sox have the third-worst earned run average in the American League (4.91) and have already allowed four unearned runs in their first six games along with 11 home runs.
The lineup has struck out 67 times in six games and the team’s strikeout percentage of 29.4 percent is the fourth-worst in the majors. The Sox also are hitting .171 with runners in scoring position with 15 strikeouts and two extra-base hits in 41 at-bats.
The Sox have scored only three runs over the first three innings and hit .190, striking out 20 times in 63 at-bats. That doesn’t speak well to their pregame preparation.
They also have swung and missed at 32.7 percent of the pitches they’ve faced. Only the White Sox and Athletics are worse. And the Red Sox are missing pitches right over the plate.
“We’ve been getting beat in the zone,” manager Alex Cora said after a 6-4 loss at Houston on Wednesday. “That’s something we have to adjust right away. We’ve got to be ready for Friday.”
The two most significant additions to the lineup — first baseman Willson Contreras and third baseman Caleb Durbin — have been a big part of the problem.
Durbin is 0 for 18 despite putting the ball in play 13 times. Contreras, who has hit cleanup in every game, is 3 for 20 without an extra-base hit and has one RBI.
Backup catcher Connor Wong is tied for the team lead with three doubles. He picked up his third double on Aug. 11 last season in his 44th game.
The Sox even did the seemingly impossible against the Reds in the second game of the season when they sent only two players to the plate in the 11th inning and made three outs.
With Ceddanne Rafaela the automatic runner at second base, Roman Anthony struck out. Trevor Story then lined to second base and Rafaela was doubled off.
Now, Sonny Gray vs. Michael King feels like a must-win game for the Sox on Friday.
Gray, the highest-paid player on the team this season, lasted only four innings against the Reds in the second game of the season. He allowed four runs and threw 80 pitches. He’s 0-4 with a 6.84 ERA in seven career games at Fenway.
King, who grew up in Rhode Island and played at Boston College, was one of the many prominent free agents the Sox deemed too expensive over the offseason.
From left to right, 1986 Red Sox teammates Bob Stanley, Dwight Evans, Wade Boggs, and Jim Rice attended Fenway Fest earlier this year and will be at the ballpark Friday for Opening Day.Ken McGagh for The Boston Globe
As part of the pregame festivities, the Sox will honor the 1986 team that went to the World Series against the Mets and lost in seven games.
Wade Boggs, Dwight Evans, and Jim Rice will be on hand along with Rich Gedman, Bruce Hurst, Bob Stanley, and 17 other players from that team. Where’s Roger Clemens you ask? He will be at the Twins home opener to see his son, Kody, play.
The ’86 Sox were 3-5 after eight games before they figured it out, moved into first place for good on May 16, and went on to win 95 games. It’s a long season and the first few games aren’t necessarily indicative of approaching peril.
Forty years later, Sox fans need to see some proof of that on Friday or Machado won’t be the only player getting booed.
Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social.