"Adrian Gonzalez showed off his new town to some old friends prior to last night's series opener between the Red Sox and the San Diego Padres at Fenway Park.

Gonzalez treated former Padres teammates Chase Headley, Will Venable and Nick Hundley to lunch at Stephanie's on Newbury before decamping for separate clubhouses.

The first baseman played five seasons in San Diego before being traded Dec. 6 to the Red Sox for outfielder Reymond Fuentes, pitcher Casey Kelly and first baseman Anthony Rizzo. The topic of playing at Fenway Park instead of Petco Park was on the menu.

"The atmosphere here, there is always a packed crowd," said Gonzalez. "I think off the field walking around town and stuff is pretty similar to here, and the fans are great in both places. The biggest difference here is that it is sold out every night and that Red Sox Nation is a lot greater on the road as well."

The Padres came to Fenway at an inopportune time. The Sox own the best record in the American League (44-28), have won 14-of-16 and outscored the opposition 128-58 during that stretch — including last night's 14-5 rout.

Gonzalez has played a huge role. He's leading the majors in batting (.353). RBI (67), total bases (180), extra-base hits (43) and doubles (25).

In the weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Gonzalez went 5-for-13 with five runs, a double, a triple, a homer, three RBI and a walk. He recorded his 1,000th career hit (a triple) on Sunday. And last night, he posted three hits and three RBI against his former team.

"I had the privilege of playing with him for the better part of three years in San Diego and he just never got the kind of recognition he deserved," said Headley. "Everybody around him saw how good he was. But now he's just on a bigger stage doing what he is capable of doing, so I'm really not surprised. He is the type of player that is going to succeed no matter where he plays."

Gonzalez insisted he doesn't hit to the ballpark but conceded the quirky dimensions of Fenway have bolstered his power numbers compared to Petco. Gonzalez added his biggest adjustment to American League concepts has been at first base, where he won consecutive Gold Gloves (2008-09) with the Padres."