BOSTON — When Rafael Devers spoke with the media before his first game back at Fenway Park, one reporter asked him if he felt the pressure to perform well over the weekend. Devers took the question in stride and cracked wise.

“I’m not even thinking about that,” said team interpreter Erwin Higueros with a laugh. “I’m missing middle-middle right now. I’m missing all my pitches. So, I’m just hoping that I do well today.”

That hope came to fruition. The Red Sox’s Sonny Gray offered up a middle-middle fastball in the fourth, and Devers sent it 412 feet over the center-field fence. It was Devers’ 96th home run at Fenway Park, his first as a visitor.

On a night where he’d been booed for what happened in the past — a night that ended with a 6-4 loss as Logan Webb endured his shortest start of the year — Devers provided Red Sox fans a reason to boo for what was happening in the present.

“He did a lot of great things for that organization,” Webb said. “Kind of disappointing hearing the boos, but it is what it is.”

The night, as a whole, was something of a mixed bag for Devers. The sellout crowd booed him during pregame introductions, then booed him some more when he stepped to the plate in the first.

Those boos gave way to cheers when the Red Sox played a 90-second tribute video after the bottom of the first. When the video ended, a camera panned to Devers, who smiled and waved to his former fanbase.

“There were cheers, too. I’d assume all the people that cheered were people that lived here in 2018, and all the people that had anything else moved here after that,” said manager Tony Vitello, referring to the Red Sox’s last championship.

Boston fans also had plenty to cheer about as Webb endured his shortest outing of the year, allowing five runs over 2 2/3 innings. Webb mentioned his poor performance in Boston in 2024, allowing four runs on nine hits over 3 2/3 innings.

“I couldn’t put a finger on it,” said Webb, who entered play having allowed two runs in his last three starts. “Just had bad command. … It happened a couple of years ago, kind of similar. I don’t know if it’s the mound. Just not very good.”

Ex-Giants lefty reliever Erik Miller, traded to the Red Sox along with minor-league outfielder Carlos Gutierez for Marcelo Mayer, pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts against his former team.

The Giants (52-76) scored the game’s first run in the top of the third on an RBI single from Bryce Eldridge, but the Red Sox immediately responded with a five-run barrage against Webb and chased him from the game.

Webb retired two of the first three batters he faced in the third before the wheels completely fell off. Boston’s Wilyer Abreu put runners at the corners with a single, then Willson Contreras turned a changeup into a 450-foot three-run blast that landed somewhere on Lansdowne Street.

Following Contreras’ majestic homer, Webb allowed back-to-back singles and hit a batter to load the bases. With no room for error, Webb walked Andruw Monasterio to gift the Red Sox one run, then plunked Mickey Gasper to gift them another. Trailing 5-1, Webb departed with two outs in the third without argument.

The Giants didn’t need long to respond with a two-out rally of their own. Drew Gilbert brought the Giants within two runs by lining a two-run shot over the short right-field fence, then Devers followed up on the next pitch with a solo homer to center. With two swings, San Francisco cut the deficit to 5-4.  Boston increased its lead to 6-4 in the sixth on an RBI triple from Abreu when right fielder Jung Hoo Lee misplayed a line drive.

“The first step was in,” Vitello said. “I think the first step was in line with where he was plotted, but there was a step in.”

Up next

Blade Tidwell (0-0, 4.33 ERA) will look to shake off a disastrous outing against the Colorado Rockies (4 1/3 innings, six runs, five walks) as he makes his fourth start of the season.