After a disappointing road trip to start the season, the Boston Red Sox (1-5) look to get their season on track with their home opener against the San Diego Padres (2-4). Michael King gets the start for San Diego and Sonny Gray takes the ball for the Red Sox. Each is making his second start of the young season. Gray was less than good in his first appearance allowing three earned runs in four innings in a 6-5 11-inning loss to the Reds. King was solid, allowing one run and just one hit over five innings in a 5-2 loss to Detroit.
The issue thus far for Boston has been the lack of offense. As a team the Sox are hitting .208 and have scored just 17 runs in six games. The Padres have been better, but barely, scoring 19 runs in their first six games while batting just .202.
Lets dive into this afternoon’s matchup and the opener of this three-game series and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.
Game Details and How to Watch: Red Sox vs. Padres
- Date: Friday, April 3, 2026
- Time: 2:10PM EST
- Site: Fenway Park
- City: Boston, MA
- Network/Streaming: MLB.TV, NESN, Padres.TV
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
The Latest Odds: Red Sox vs. Padres
The latest odds as of Friday courtesy of FanDuel:
- Moneyline: Boston Red Sox (-126), San Diego Padres (+104)
- Spread: Red Sox -1.5 (+163) / Padres +1.5 (-199)
- Total: 8.0 runs
Probable Starting Pitchers: Red Sox vs. Padres
Pitching matchup for April 3:
- Red Sox: Sonny Gray
Season Totals: 4.0 IP, 0-0, 6.75 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, 5K, 1 BB - Padres: Michael King
Season Totals: 5 IP, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 6K, 4 BB
Who’s Hot? Who’s Not! Red Sox vs. Padres
- Former Red Sox shortstop Xander Boegarts is 4-24 with 1 extra base hit this season
- Jackson Merrill is 5-23 to start the season
- Ramon Laureano is 7-18 with 2 HRs this season
- Wilyer Abreu is 10-24 with 3 HRs and 6 RBIs this season
- Roman Anthony is 5-22 with 1 HR this season
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Hyped prospect Griffin will make his MLB debut
James Schiano reacts to the announcement that the Pirates’ No. 1 prospect Konnor Griffin will make his big league debut at Pittsburgh’s home opener and analyzes his ‘massive’ upside.
Top Betting Trends & Insights: Red Sox vs. Padres
- The Red Sox are 1-5 on the Run Line this season
- San Diego is 3-3 on the Run Line this season
- The OVER has cashed 4 times in the Padres’ 6 games this season (4-2)
- The OVER has cashed 2 times in the Sox’ first 6 games (2-3-1)
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions: Red Sox vs. Padres
Rotoworld Bet Best Bet
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday’s game between the Red Sox and the Padres:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Red Sox on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play on the Red Sox on the Run Line.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Game Total of 8.0.
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
- Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
- Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
- Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
- Trysta Krick (@Trysta_Krick)
Read the full article here