The ground single to right field from Christian Vazquez was just shallow enough to make things interesting.

Making his regular-season debut after a long road back from offseason knee surgery, Dustin Pedroia had to put his wheels to the test trying to score the tying run from second in the third inning of the Sox’ 8-6 win over the Braves on Saturday afternoon.

Pedroia was rounding third as Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was making his crow hop for the throw home.

As Acuna’s throw one-hopped to the plate, Pedroia already was sliding in headfirst, tagging the plate with his left hand to tie the game at 3.

Manager Alex Cora cracked a smile when talking about the 34-year-old second baseman’s speed. But he made sure to use air quotes.

“He looked ‘fast,’ ’’ Cora said.

But on what was a quiet day for Pedroia (0 for 4, one walk), the takeaway was him feeling healthy enough to play with no limitations.

“I felt good all day,’’ Pedroia said. “I know I didn’t get any hits, but I hit some balls good. That’s a good sign. Right where I need to be.’’

Cora batted Pedroia sixth, a spot he had hit in just five times in his career.

“I think that’s a good spot for him to have traffic in front of him and put up a quality at-bat, put the ball in play and drive in some runs,’’ Cora said before the game. “I like him where he’s at.’’

Pedroia was greeted warmly by the Fenway crowd prior to the game, then again when he stepped to the plate in the first inning.

“It’s been a long time, so it was just fun to be out there,’’ Pedroia said. “And I’ll never forget that’’

During a five-game rehab assignment with Triple A Pawtucket, Pedroia went 1 for 14 with three strikeouts. But over his career, Pedroia had thrived in interleague play, coming in hitting .333 with 18 homers and 91 RBIs in 183 games against National League teams.

With the Braves starting lefthander Sean Newcomb, Cora made some lineup tweaks, playing J.D. Martinez in left field and hitting him third, sliding first baseman Mitch Moreland into the cleanup spot, starting Eduardo Nunez at third in place of Rafael Devers, and using Blake Swihart as the designated hitter. Jackie Bradley Jr. started the day on the bench before being called on to play center for the ninth.

While the Sox have tormented righthanded pitching (.275 average, 63 homers, 206 RBIs), they had had issues against lefties (.237 average, 12 homers, 49 RBIs entering Saturday).

“We’ve been struggling against lefties, so I decided to go with as many righties as possible,’’ Cora said before the game. “So that’s the reason behind it. Give [Devers] a day off. That’s good for him. Jackie, too, although he’s been swinging the bat well.’’

“[Newcomb is] a tough one. His velocity and secondary pitches, he’s a tough lefty. So I decided to go with the righties.’’

Start for Swihart

Infrequent at-bats made the start of the season a struggle for Swihart. But the decision Friday to designate Hanley Ramirez for assignment instantly created an opportunity.

Swihart batted eighth on Saturday.

“He’s ready for the challenge,’’ Cora said. “His role is going to get bigger. So like I told him, ‘Hey, man, you go 0 for 10, don’t worry.’ ’’

Swihart came in just 4 for 30 in 17 games this season. He had gotten four plate appearances in a game just four times, and Cora could sense the 26-year-old was pressing.

“I think that was part of what was going on early in the season,’’ Cora said. “He wanted to get six hits in four at-bats just to prove to everybody he belongs here. So now he can relax and put up good at-bats.’’

Swihart went 1 for 3 with an RBI single in the third inning.

Maddox progressing

Righthander Austin Maddox, who started the season on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation, returned to Triple A Pawtucket to make his third rehab appearance.

After being held to a single inning in each of his first two appearances, the plan was to have Maddox stretch out longer in this outing. He did go longer, but it didn’t go real well. He gave up three hits — two of them home runs — and two runs in 1⅔ innings against Lehigh Valley. He threw 38 pitches, 23 for strikes.

Previously, he’d thrown a scoreless inning with a hit and a strikeout against Rochester on May 18, and had to work around four walks in another scoreless frame against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last Monday.

“He’s bouncing back well,’’ Cora said before Saturday’s outing. “The velocity is where we want it. I think location is very important for him, obviously his secondary pitches. But this guy . . . he pitches inside to righties, so it’s a different look for us.’’

“He’s moving in the right direction and hopefully he can be back sooner rather than later because he’s a different look than the guys that we have in the bullpen.’’

Back in the swing

When Andrew Benintendi came into the clubhouse and told Cora he didn’t feel right at the plate, the manager almost did a double-take.

Yes, Benintendi had gone 0 for 3 with a walk on Friday, but the night before he worked three walks in four plate appearances against the Rays. And for May, Benintendi was hitting .306 with four homers and 15 RBIs.

But Benintendi wanted to do some fine-tuning.

“You’re not going to feel great every day, obviously,’’ Benintendi said. “I went in there today and I was just like, ‘Hey, I mean, if you want to do some things, let’s do it.’ ’’

Benintendi got the results he was looking for, going 3 for 4 with his team-leading fourth triple, along with his seventh homer of the season. Over his last six games, Benintendi has homered three times.

“Obviously I think I went through a week or a week and a half where I was hitting well, then down in Tampa kind of scuffled, and obviously yesterday,’’ Benintendi said. “But just grinding out at-bats, trying to get on base, score a run, move a guy over, just do the little things.’’

“As long as he stays in the zone, he’s fine,’’ Cora said. “He did it early in the season, then struggled chasing pitches, but now he’s back. The swing’s right there, so we’re very confident with him.’’

Dream matchup

After growing up in Brockton, Newcomb was already familiar with Fenway Park, but he fulfilled a childhood dream when he took the mound on Saturday.

Newcomb grew up idolizing the Pedro Martinez/Manny Ramirez/David Ortiz Red Sox.

After starring at Middleborough High then going on to the University of Hartford, Newcomb was taken by the Angels in the first round of the 2014 draft. In 2015, he was traded to Atlanta in a package for shortstop Andrelton Simmons.

Newcomb went 4-9 with a 4.32 ERA as a rookie last season, but he is having a breakout year this season, entering Saturday with a 5-1 record and 2.39 ERA. The lefthander allowed three runs on six hits with four walks and four strikeouts in just three innings on Saturday, getting a no-decision.

Over his previous four starts, Newcomb had allowed just one run on nine hits in 25 innings. He was the first Braves pitcher since Tom Glavine in 2000 to go four straight starts without giving up more than one run and four hits.

Fan favorites

Dwight Evans, Luis Tiant, Martinez, Wade Boggs, and Mike Lowell will be among the 25 former Sox at Fenway Sunday morning for the Alumni Game. The reunion is being held 25 years to the day since the last Alumni Game at Fenway. Evans and Tiant will serve as managers for the three-inning game, which will start at 10:30.