The Boston Red Sox opened their August 8-10 series against the San Diego Padres with a commanding 10-2 win, led by Walker Buehler in his return to Southern California.
The former Dodger and longtime Padres rival posted six scoreless innings with four hits, four strikeouts and two walks. It was his first outing without an earned run since May 20, when he was ejected in the third inning. Buehler's postseason stuff came back at just the right time.
According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive, the Red Sox have recently considered making some rotation changes. Boston can put itself in the best postseason position with its top starting pitching options in the second half, and recent performances from Cooper Criswell and Kyle Harrison have put pressure on Buehler to perform.
Criswell started for the Red Sox against the Astros on August 1 and posted a seven-inning, one-run outing. He let up seven hits and doesn't strike batters out at a high clip, with four strikeouts in his latest outing, but Criswell has been largely reliable as a depth starter for Boston. He's only started once in 2025, but he posted a 3.49 ERA with 67strikeouts and 24 walks over 85 innings in the Sox's 2024 rotation.
Red Sox's Walker Buehler found his best stuff at just the right time against the Padres
Harrison, one of the Red Sox's returns in the Rafael Devers trade, is finding his way in Triple-A and may soon be ready for a call-up. The young lefty last started on August 7 and clocked seven strikeouts and let up just two hits over seven innings. He's logged a 3.96 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 20 walks over 36.1 innings with the WooSox so far, and a 4.56 ERA with 25 strikeouts and nine walks in 23.2 frames with the Giants in the major leagues. Harrison still struggles with command, but his big league ERA is lower than Buehler's 5.40 metric.
The Red Sox may consider replacing Buehler in the rotation because he's reached some bonuses in his contract. His outing against the Padres was his 20th start of the year, for which he earned an additional $500 thousand. He'll secure an additional $500 thousand with every second start he makes for the rest of the year, and if Harrison or Criswell would be better, it's hard to imagine Boston giving Buehler enough starts to make all his extra money.
But Buehler flashed his best stuff at the right time. The Red Sox signed Buehler fresh off his dominant World Series performance against the Yankees, and 10-straight scoreless postseason innings. His August 8 outing against the Padres, a sure-fire playoff contender, showed he can still break out his best work when it counts. Buehler's starts for the rest of the season will count for something — extra money for himself and the Red Sox's position in the postseason chase.