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Willson Contreras Brings Flair To Red Sox Home Opener originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Red Sox got back in the win column on Friday with a 5-2 victory over the San Diego Padres. Two off-season trade acquisitions, Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras, were big parts of the win.
Contreras finished the day 1-3 with a home run and a walk. While the line doesn't seem out of the ordinary, he made the most of his trips to the plate. The walk came in the second inning. Contreras was initially called out on strikes, but challenged the pitch and was successful, putting him on first base. He challenged as he was walking to first base, and was already standing on the base by the time the challenge was complete. When it was announced that the pitch was a ball, he threw his arm guard into the dugout.
"On the challenge, I was 100% sure that was a ball," Contreras said. "That was my reaction, I didn't try to show up the umpire or anything like that."
In the sixth inning, with the score tied, Contreras stepped back to the plate for a third meeting with Padres starter Michael King. He put the first pitch he saw over the monster. The first baseman watched the ball from home plate before flipping his bat into the air.
"I took the homer personally, because the first at-bat, he threw one, I know it got away from him, that was close to my face," Contreras said. "If I hit a homer in this one, it's going to be a big bat flip."
The solo home run proved to be the winning run as the Red Sox held the Padres to just two runs. It was their first win after a five-game losing streak. They'll play two more games against the San Diego Padres before moving on to welcome the Milwaukee Brewers to Fenway Park on Monday.
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