Craig Stammen had given a lot of thought to who his leadoff hitter was going to be on opening day. And the day after that and the day after that at and so on.

Asked on the eve of the opener if he’d settled on a lineup for his first game on the top step, the 42-year-old rookie manager said: “Yeah I think so.”

After a few moments he added: “Subject to change.”

Less than 24 hours later, that first lineup was out and Fernando Tatis Jr. — after all the talk about moving him down in the order this spring — was his first leadoff hitter against left-hander Tarik Skubal. The Padres will face another left-hander on Friday (Framber Valdez) and it is not a slam dunk that Thursday’s lineup card will match Friday’s.

Now we go. pic.twitter.com/MQ6VD2mHyl

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 26, 2026

“Based on what my mind has been doing the last few days trying to come up with the opening day lineup, I feel like I’m gonna have a different lineup almost every day,” Stammen said with a laugh. “So we’ll see. I think, like in today’s age, we have so much information about what a pitcher is throwing to the plate and the hitter’s swing type and bat path and all that kind of stuff. I think it’s smart to change your lineup every day to put try to put your best players out there in the best situation to succeed.

“And so, yeah, I won’t have a set lineup. Maybe we get going in the season (and) it’s like: This is how we score runs the best. That may be what it’s like, but at least in the beginning, we’re going to try new things and try different things and see what shakes out.”

Perhaps a longer lineup than last year had something to do with it.

After all, Tatis did just fine as the Dominican’s leadoff hitter in the World Baseball Classic.

With Tatis in the leadoff spot — where he started 150 of 155 games last year — Xander Bogaerts will bat second, followed by Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill and new designated hitter Miguel Adujuar.

First baseman Gavin Sheets draws the start against the left-handed Skubal in the six-hole, followed by Ramón Laureano, Freddy Fermin and second baseman Jake Cronenworth, whose career-high .367 on-base percentage last year was second among Padres regulars to Tatis (.368).

Here is how the Tigers will line up for Game 1 of 162:

1 of 162. #OpeningDay
 
⚾️ 4:10 PM ET
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🏟️ Petco Park pic.twitter.com/Bk4jAAIeJn

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) March 26, 2026

 

Thursday’s pitching matchup

Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal (13-6, 2.21 ERA in 2025)

The 29-year-old has won the last two AL Cy Young Awards and is entering his walk year. Skubal led the majors last year in WHIP (0.891), strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.30) and walk rate (1.5 per nine innings). His only appearance against the Padres was allowing two unearned runs in six innings in a no-decision in 2022, when he struck out two and walked three.

Here is how current Padres have fared against Skubal:

Padres RHP Nick Pivetta (13-5, 2.87 ERA in 2025)

He gets his first opening-day nod after setting career bests last year in wins, ERA, innings (181⅔) and strikeouts (190). The 33-year-old veteran has a 2.33 ERA in 27 innings (5 games, 4 starts) against the Tiges. Pivetta won his start last year in Detroit, striking out six over seven shutout innings.

Here is how Pivetta has fared against current Tigers: