{"id":661676,"date":"2026-04-03T22:55:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T22:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/661676\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T22:55:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T22:55:45","slug":"ex-hendricken-star-michael-king-starts-for-padres-at-red-sox-home-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/661676\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Hendricken star Michael King starts for Padres at Red Sox home opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOSTON \u2013 It requires less effort now for Michael King<\/a> to keep his\u00a0competitive juices\u00a0in check here.<\/p>\n

Fenway Park was the\u00a0place closest\u00a0to where he grew up and went to\u00a0school.\u00a0The former standout at Bishop Hendricken and Boston College will always feel some sort of attachment, even as a visiting pitcher.<\/p>\n

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Friday afternoon\u00a0marked\u00a0his seventh\u00a0career\u00a0appearance and third start at this venue. That it came on what developed into a sun-splashed Opening Day for the Red Sox<\/a> was just part of the package. King absorbed his first defeat of the season\u00a0with the Padres, and it just happened to be in front of family and friends.<\/p>\n

Willson Contreras<\/a> and Marcelo Mayer<\/a> each cracked home runs in the bottom of the sixth inning while lifting Boston to a 5-2 triumph on April 3. The sellout crowd of 36,233 fans saw the home team snap a 2-2 tie thanks to a solo shot by Contreras and a two-run blast by Mayer against reliever Wandy\u00a0Peralta.\u00a0The Red Sox\u00a0ended\u00a0their five-game losing streak\u00a0thanks to what qualifies for them to date as an offensive breakout.<\/p>\n

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Take a look: Boston Red Sox home opener vs. San Diego Padres<\/p>\n

Apr 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; A general view outside Fenway Park before the Boston Red Sox home opener game against the San Diego Padres. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Apr 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; A general view outside Fenway Park before the Boston Red Sox home opener game against the San Diego Padres. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Apr 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; A general view in and around Fenway Park before the Boston Red Sox home opener game against the San Diego Padres. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – APRIL 03: A performer juggles on Jersey Street before the home opener game between the San Diego Padres and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on April 03, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Brian Fluharty\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

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Apr 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; A general view in and around Fenway Park before the Boston Red Sox home opener game against the San Diego Padres. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Apr 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Two fans pose for a photo at Fenway Park before the Boston Red Sox home opener game against the San Diego Padres. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Apr 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; A child gets his face painted outside of Fenway Park before the Boston Red Sox home opener game against the San Diego Padres. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Apr 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; A general view in and around Fenway Park before the Boston Red Sox home opener game against the San Diego Padres. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Apr 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; A baseball glove with pink highlights sits on the dugout railing at Fenway Park before the Boston Red Sox home opener game against the San Diego Padres. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – APRIL 03: Xander Bogaerts #2 of the San Diego Padres talks with the media before a the home opener game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on April 03, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Brian Fluharty\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

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Apr 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Apr 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Michael King (34) pitches against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Apr 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) pitches against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – APRIL 03: Xander Bogaerts #2 of the San Diego Padres waves to the crowd during his first at bat in the first inning of the home opener game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on April 03, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Brian Fluharty\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

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Apr 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; A young Red Sox fan meets Tessie the Boston Red Sox mascot before a game against the San Diego Padres at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Apr 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Fans take a selfie with Tessie the Boston Red Sox mascot before a game against the San Diego Padres at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0always fun,\u201d King said. \u201cGood\u00a0atmosphere. Warmer than I expected \u2013 I was\u00a0kind of wishing\u00a0for it to be a little bit colder.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s\u00a0spoken like a New Englander, and King certainly would have worked in plenty of spring games with the Hawks and Eagles where an extra layer under the uniform top would have been\u00a0needed.\u00a0The right-hander\u00a0threw six strong innings while winning his last time out here in 2024\u00a0and came a couple\u00a0batters\u00a0shy of potentially repeating the same. Contreras jumped on a middle-middle sinker with one out in the sixth and sent it onto Lansdowne Street, one swing\u00a0that\u00a0wound up\u00a0the game\u2019s turning point.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey were aggressive,\u201d King said. \u201cWe played into it early \u2013 got a lot of soft contact. And then I threw a couple bad pitches that I wish I would have executed a little bit better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Michael King (34) pitches against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning at Fenway Park in Friday’s home opener in Boston.<\/p>\n

King\u00a0walked one and struck out five while allowing seven hits\u00a0and four earned runs. One of those was inherited \u2013 Peralta\u00a0served up\u00a0a\u00a0first-pitch\u00a0homer to Mayer\u00a0into the visiting bullpen, and Wilyer Abreu<\/a> coasted in from first base after his one-out single. That opened the\u00a0Boston\u00a0lead from just a sliver at 3-2 into something\u00a0more comfortable, and\u00a0San Diego\u00a0was unable to mount any sort of rally.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe pitched\u00a0pretty good\u00a0today,\u201d\u00a0Padres\u00a0manager Craig Stammen said. \u201cFelt like the end of the fifth,\u00a0a couple hard-hit balls. Sixth inning, a couple hard-hit balls.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThen we felt like we had a matchup that was better in our favor with Wandy. It ended up not being that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ceddanne\u00a0Rafaela and Caleb Durbin each sent RBI singles to center field in the third and fourth innings, respectively. Those came after\u00a0the Red Sox\u00a0opened each frame with a leadoff double, putting King in a pair of jams. He worked out of more trouble in the fifth when\u00a0second baseman Jake\u00a0Cronenworth\u00a0made a\u00a0fantastic backhanded\u00a0stab on a Trevor Story liner up the middle, starting a 4-3 double play.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just incredible,\u201d King said.\u00a0\u201cLine\u00a0drive\u00a0coming\u00a0back at me, so I had to get out of the way. I thought it was for sure a single up the middle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Red<\/p>\n

Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras hits a home run against the San Diego Padres during the sixth inning at Fenway Park on Friday.<\/p>\n

King\u2019s first professional outing here came with the Yankees in 2021, and the venue was still\u00a0operating\u00a0under some COVID-19 restrictions. It\u00a0was\u00a0a different scene five years later, with\u00a0King an established veteran and\u00a0the Back Bay buzzing long before the scheduled 2:10 p.m. first pitch. He signed a three-year, $75-million deal to remain with the Padres after reaching free agency last offseason.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEven going to Boston College \u2013\u00a0we’re\u00a020 minutes away from there,\u201d King said.\u00a0\u201cOutside of\u00a0actually playing\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0been here\u00a0way more\u00a0than any other stadium in baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n

The occasion had King and his teammates\u00a0operating\u00a0under\u00a0a different sort of limit. Tickets were scarce for family and friends, and King\u00a0filled\u00a0requests only for those closest to him. There was a time in the past where he might have been next to them in the grandstand \u2013 quite a bit has changed since he was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Rhode Island for the 2013 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI liked being a fan out there,\u201d King said. \u201cI like it even more competing.\u201d<\/p>\n

bkoch@providencejournal.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

On X: @BillKoch25\u00a0<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Ex-Hendricken star Michael King takes loss for Padres vs. Red Sox<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BOSTON \u2013 It requires less effort now for Michael King to keep his\u00a0competitive juices\u00a0in check here. Fenway Park…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":661677,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2375],"tags":[5,71941,141,13189,48,2542,3615,1396,54201,1350,872,1248,87,4,43,89,2543,137,1035,7943,409,606],"class_list":["post-661676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boston-red-sox","tag-baseball","tag-bishop-hendricken","tag-boston","tag-boston-college","tag-boston-red-sox","tag-bostonredsox","tag-caleb-durbin","tag-ceddanne-rafaela","tag-craig-stammen","tag-fenway-park","tag-jake-cronenworth","tag-marcelo-mayer","tag-michael-king","tag-mlb","tag-padres","tag-red-sox","tag-redsox","tag-san-diego","tag-trevor-story","tag-wandy-peralta","tag-willson-contreras","tag-wilyer-abreu"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116343247672274884","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}