Although they came out on the better side of the Buehler/Nick Pivetta matchup, it was a bit of a sliding-doors moment for the Red Sox, who were interested in retaining Pivetta last offseason before pivoting to Buehler.

The Red Sox handed Pivetta one of his worst starts of the season, scoring five runs against their former workhorse en route to a 10-2 win in Friday’s series opener. Boston scored four runs in the top of the fourth to seize control, and Connor Wong blew the game open with a three-run double in the eighth.

Nick Pivetta put his hands on his head as Wilyer Abreu’s fourth-inning drive sailed over the right-center wall. The San Diego Padres’ right-hander had endured only a handful of poor starts this year,