Try to save the Padres series against a knuckleballer who studied with Wakefield

(082609 Boston, MA) Boston Red Sox vs Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park. Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Tim Wakefield pitches in the first inning Wednesday, August 26, 2009. Staff photo by Matt Stone

After being outscored 20-3 in their first two games with the Padres, the Red Sox are just hoping to avoid getting swept on Sunday.

(Also without the injured Xander Bogaerts and Fernando Tatis Jr. from San Diego’s lineup.)

But Sunday will be a unique experience for the Boston bats and for many, if not all, a first. They face right-hander Matt Waldron, whose pitching arsenal is led by a knuckleball.

He also presents a challenge for the Red Sox lineup. As the only active knuckleballer in the Majors, he is an enigma to most hitters and it works to his advantage.

“I don’t think these guys have seen, probably none of them have seen a knuckleball, not that I know of,” Alex Cora said Sunday morning before his regular meetings with hitters. “If you see it up, let it fly, I guess. That’s basically the point, right? If you see him down, let him go.”

Although the 27-year-old right-hander doesn’t use the pitch as much as the late great Tim Wakefield, he is the one he throws more than any other, nearly 40 percent of the time. Waldron’s repertoire also includes a four-seam, a sweeper, a flat and a little-used cutter. According to Baseball Savant, he ranks in the 83rd MLB percentile or higher in run value (95th), average exit velocity (83rd) and hard-hit rate (88th a).

“It’s a good one,” Cora said of Waldron’s joint. “And he has other lands. He’s not like, 75% balls, he’s 40%. He’s got good velo too, earlier like RA Dickey, so I’ve got to be ready.”

It will be a bittersweet moment when Waldron’s first pitch swings from the mound in Boston. Wakefield, one of the greatest and most beloved knuckleballers in baseball history, called Fenway home for 17 seasons as a player and over a decade as a broadcaster. Not only is Waldron following in Wakefield’s footsteps, but he attributes some of his success to the work he did with the man himself. As children, Waldron and his twin brother first learned the knuckleballer by playing Wakefield in a video game, then looked up photos of the Red Sox pitcher’s grip and began practicing it in their backyard. He didn’t start using it professionally until 2021, when he was a minor leaguer in the Padres system. When he did, the organization put him in touch with Wakefield.

When Wakefield, who had been battling brain cancer, died suddenly on Oct. 1 — the final day of the 2023 regular season — Waldron told the Boston Globe he “screamed all day in the dugout.”

When the Padres arrived at Fenway, Red Sox clubhouse manager Tommy McLaughlin sent a Wakefield cap and one of the “49” patches the Sox are wearing on their jerseys this season to the visitors’ clubhouse for Waldron.

Red Sox lineup (June 30)

Jarren Duran LF

David Hamilton SS

Wilyer Abreu RF

Rafael Devers 3B

Enmanuel Valdez 2B

Masataka Yoshida DH

Dom Smith 1B

Reese McGuire C

Ceddanne Rafaela CF

Padres Lineup (June 30)

Luis Arraez 1B

Jurickson Profar LF

Jake Cronenworth 2B

Manny Machado DH

Donovan Solano 3B

Jackson Merrill CF

Ha-Seong Kim SS

Kyle Higashioka C

Bryce Johnson RF

Red Sox vs. Padres, likely starting pitchers

RHP Josh Winckowski (3.26 ERA) vs RHP Matt Waldron (3.43 ERA)

How to watch Red Sox vs. Padres

When: 1:35 PM ET

Where: Fenway Park

TV: NESN

Red Sox Radio: WEEI 93.7 FM, WCCM 1490 AM (Spanish)