The Boston Red Sox will see an old friend when visiting the West Coast this weekend.

Boston begins a three-game series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night. Former Red Sox pitcher Nick Pivetta will start the first game for the Friars, but he’s not the only familiar face playing great baseball.

Xander Bogaerts enters the interleague series on a hot streak. The longtime Red Sox star has hit a home run in each of his last two games, giving him a .971 OPS to start August.

The four-time All-Star is batting .291/.321/.519 since the break and .297/.353/.521 since the start of June. That’s much more like the Bogaerts that Red Sox fans remember, rather than the one who ended May with a .241/.326/.335 slash line.

Bogaerts tallied 1,410 hits, 156 home runs and 74 stolen bases during his

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