Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras comes up big against his former team in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS (AP) - The Boston Red Sox were looking for a spark when they acquired first baseman Willson Contreras from the St. Louis Cardinals in a December trade.

Contreras delivered as advertised against his former team again on Sunday when he matched his career high of four hits and belted a two-run homer in the first inning of Boston's 9-3 win over St. Louis.

The three-time All-Star finished with three RBIs - he also knocked in three runs Saturday night in a 7-1 victory over the Cardinals.

"There's a reason we got him, right?" Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "We needed a right-handed bat, and we got more than that. We got a guy that is playing great defense at first base. He controls the strike zone. He's becoming a leader in the clubhouse. It's fun to have him around."

Contreras gave starter Brayan Bello a lead before he even stepped on the Busch Stadium mound by hitting a 3-2 sinker on the outside corner 411 feet into the right-center bleachers off Andre Pallante to make it 2-0.

"I kind of played like little mind games," Contreras said. "I got on the plate. I got on the box, and everything went south for him. A 3-1 count, I wasn't swinging. I was expecting like a hit by pitch or something like that, because I was on top of the plate. He executed and, then, I was like there's no way he's throwing off-speed right here. So I was looking for that sinker, especially middle down, and that's when I got it."

Contreras also singled in the third, fourth and seventh. It was his eighth career four-hit game and first since June 2023 with the Cardinals against the Chicago Cubs in London.

His teammates on the Red Sox have embraced their new first baseman and wore T-shirts with Contreras' No. 40 on the back and his nickname Bowser on the front.

Contreras said he first heard the nickname, stemming from his physical resemblance to the Super Mario Brothers video game character of the same name, from Cardinals catcher Pedro Pagés, and it caught on when Boston teammate Trevor Story started using it in spring training.

"He brings a presence," said Story, who also had four hits. "He brings an intensity and some leadership, too. We love that, and that's what we need. We do have a younger group, and he's done a great job of blending and kind of making it all work. So, he's been a great addition, and he's playing well."