Oh, and it\u2019s good to talk to you all again. Happy New Season!<\/p>\n
Pivetta, far and away the Padres\u2019 best pitcher in 2025 and being counted on to be that good again, spoke this spring about his main goal being to have fewer starts where he didn\u2019t limit the damage<\/a>.<\/p>\n The six runs were the most he has allowed in 31 starts for the Padres that were not at Coors Field. The seven hits were tied for the second most. His three walks in the first inning would have tied for the third most he issued in a game last season.<\/p>\n Basically, he had nothing yesterday. And that was exacerbated by his not commanding his two best pitches, his fastball and curveball.<\/p>\n In the first inning, when the Tigers both waited out Pivetta and ambushed him, three of his 18 four-seam fastballs were in the strike zone. For the game, he got one called strike and four misses on 33 four-seamers. That is a lower percentage (15.2%) than in any game last season. He got a called strike or a miss on 30.7% of his four-seamers in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cNick didn\u2019t pitch the way he normally pitches,\u201d shortstop Xander Bogaerts said. \u201cI don\u2019t know. He might not have the feel for his pitches because he wasn\u2019t close to being as sharp as he normally is, and that kind of sucked a little bit for him, because he normally commands all of his pitches pretty well. But today he couldn\u2019t go to any one of his pitches. They were all just very unlike him. But he\u2019ll bounce back. I mean, he\u2019s Nick.\u201d<\/p>\n The Padres will have to hope.<\/p>\n \u201cI would love that game back,\u201d Pivetta said. \u201cBut that\u2019s not reality. That\u2019s not how the world works. Just look to capitalize on a couple days off that I have here, get a good bullpen sesh, get back to who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n Good start<\/p>\n Bogaerts has been pretty bad in the first half of each of his seasons with the Padres. (I wrote this spring about his quest for a complete season<\/a>, the kind he had pretty much perennially in Boston).<\/p>\n But he actually began his time with the Padres in 2023 with a 30-game on-base streak that was the longest by any player at the start of his tenure with the organization.<\/p>\n That came after a World Baseball Classic as well.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if the WBC might help, just being ready to play in, like, some real games,\u201d said Bogaerts, who is from Aruba and has played in four WBC tournaments for The Kingdom of the Netherlands.<\/p>\n Bogaerts began this season with some loud contact, putting four balls in play at 102 mph or harder and going 2-for-4 yesterday. Both of his hits came against Tigers starter Tarik Skubal, while every other Padres batter combined to go 1-for-19 against Skubal.<\/p>\n \u201cVery happy with how Xander looks right now,\u201d Padres manager Craig Stammen said. \u201cCarried on what he looked like at the end of spring training, hitting line drives everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n Bogaerts went 8-for-28 with two doubles and a home run and had a 60% hard-hit rate in the Cactus League. He was 5-for-15 in the WBC.<\/p>\n But he claimed this month had been something of a struggle before yesterday.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel good today,\u201d Bogaerts said. \u201cSpring training, it was rough. But I just think it\u2019s different when you get into real games. Like going to WBC. I was physically also like a little banged up, But playing in the games is different. It\u2019s different when you playing for something (versus when) you\u2019re playing on the backfield or something. It\u2019s tough, especially getting later on in my career. It is a little more tough because maybe you played so many spring training games. I don\u2019t know what it is.<\/p>\n \u201cI just feel (in the) WBC, I grinded. I don\u2019t think my swing was where I wanted it to be then. But you had to play, and you had to give it what you had at that point. Spring training is a good time to work on it. But I think my bat path might be in a good position right now, and I\u2019m happy with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Dominated<\/p>\n It seemed like the Tigers were always up yesterday.<\/p>\n That was because the Padres hardly took any time at all to make outs.<\/p>\n Skubal, winner of the past two American League Cy Young awards, allowed successive one-out singles to Bogaerts and Manny Machado in the first inning. The left-hander then retired 15 straight batters in just 46 pitches.<\/p>\n It was not necessarily ineptitude that accounted for the Padres seeing just 74 pitches from Skubal in his six innings. (That 3.36 pitches per plate appearance was fewer than all but seven other starting pitchers who have gone at least six innings against the Padres since the start of last season.)<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s coming aggressive,\u201d Ram\u00f3n Laureano said. \u201cAnd he\u2019s the best in the game. So if he\u2019s going to beat you, he\u2019s going to beat you with the best thing he has.\u201d<\/p>\n Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish which is Skubal\u2019s best pitch. His changeup is his nastiest one, and the Padres missed nine of the 11 times they swung at it yesterday. But his two fastballs average better than 97 mph, and they move. Skubal threw his four-seamer and sinker 43 times yesterday, including on the first pitch to 16 of the 22 batters he faced.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a game plan, and it was to be aggressive, clearly,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cA good pitcher is gonna, he\u2019s gonna pitch the way he pitches, and we just had to figure out a way to get on the fastball. He pitched good enough where his fastball was beating us a little bit, and he has the nasty changeup that has kind of stifled the league for the last few years. A great pitcher, a good test for us on opening day. And, you know, he proved who he was.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a tough way for Padres hitters to begin the season. And it won\u2019t be the last upper-tier starter they face in the coming weeks. From lefty Framber Valdez tonight to their first-ever encounter with Paul Skenes in early April, the Padres will have to be better against the best right away<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Padres made it a point of emphasis to improve against left-handers this season after hitting .244 (15th in MLB) with a .691 OPS (19th in MLB) against lefties in 2025.<\/p>\n It might not be right to judge them after their first two games.<\/p>\n Money, spent<\/p>\n Yu Darvish allowed the Padres to re-sign Michael King.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the simplest way to look at it.<\/p>\n It seemed to catch some people by surprise that Darvish went on the restricted list on Wednesday. The specific way his forfeiting his 2026 salary was resolved was news. But this outcome was guaranteed for months, and the Padres have spent the $15 million they got back because of Darvish\u2019s largesse. His officially going on the restricted list did not free up new payroll space.<\/p>\n Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller yesterday addressed the uniqueness of Darvish\u2019s decision to not just go on the injured list, rehab and collect his salary, and that is part of Jeff Sanders\u2019 notebook (here).<\/p>\n Preller also repeated what he has essentially been saying since news broke in January that Darvish planned to walk away from his contract.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is something that we\u2019ve been planning for and working towards throughout the whole offseason,\u201d Preller said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a surprise. I think ultimately, (it was) just kind of figuring out exactly what he wanted to do \u2014 what the right list to put him on, getting the right people involved to do that. That was really what the last six to eight weeks was about. But in terms of, like, the planning part of it, it doesn\u2019t really change anything.\u201d<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean the Padres don\u2019t have any money to spend (beyond the $232 million they have already invested, the eighth-highest payroll in MLB) at some point this season. But if you have been paying attention at all, you know the Padres don\u2019t really have any money.<\/p>\n For now.<\/p>\n There is hope internally that an ownership change, which could come as early as next month, will loosen the purse strings for Preller to address needs the way he has done during the past two seasons.<\/p>\n As for free agent starting pitcher Lucas Giolito, who remains unsigned, the price would need to come down significantly. Even then, the most optimistic thing anyone with the Padres would say about the chance they could sign him is that it is \u201cnot zero.\u201d<\/p>\n A kind of save<\/p>\n There weren\u2019t many positives to take away from yesterday.<\/p>\n And this is one positive that only a team that lost would talk about. But that doesn\u2019t mean it won\u2019t end up being significant.<\/p>\n Ron Marinaccio (two), Bradgley Rodriguez (two), David Morgan and Wandy Peralta combined to cover the final six innings. And, not for nothing, Pivetta was able to finish off the top of the first inning by striking out Javier Baez, who was likely going to be his last batter. (Pivetta had thrown 33 pitches.).<\/p>\n Left-hander Kyle Hart was warm, and left-handed batter Kerry Carpenter was on deck with two of three batters after him also batting from the left side.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the hardest part about today\u2019s decision making was who was going to pitch and how we were going to get through the game without pitching guys \u2026 we wanted to save,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cWe ended up wanting to save Kyle Hart for tomorrow and the next day. Their lineup is predominantly left-handed, and we felt like if we saved him for the next two days, we had a better chance, we could be a little bit more aggressive with the bullpen (the next two days) if we had to be. We knew if Wandy just pitched one inning, he\u2019d be good to go one of the next two days.\u201d<\/p>\n The Padres are off Sunday. That likely means there won\u2019t be any hesitance by Stammen to use his higher-leverage relievers today and tomorrow.<\/p>\n Look who\u2019s on top<\/p>\n Fernando Tatis Jr. led off after all<\/a>.<\/p>\n That wasn\u2019t surprising, actually. Even though Stammen experimented quite a bit with his lineups in the spring, it appeared near the end that Tatis would be the choice to bat first against left-handed starters.<\/p>\n Tatis batting first is not a bad thing. As I wrote (here<\/a>) a couple weeks ago, it is only a bad thing if the Padres\u2019 bottom of the order is as awful as it was the first four months of last season.<\/p>\n Bogaerts batted second for just the fourth time with the Padres. The other three times were last season. Machado was third, where he has hit more than any spot in his career.<\/p>\n Opening Day Tatis Jr. RF \u2014 Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) March 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cJust because this is the lineup on opening day doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s going to be for 162,\u201d Stammen said before the game. \u201cWe\u2019re going to switch it up as we go.\u201d<\/p>\n Indications are that Jake Cronenworth will get first crack at leading off against right-handers.<\/p>\n Stammen\u2019s start<\/p>\n It became apparent to anyone paying attention last season that Mike Shildt had an issue being questioned \u2014 by the media, his boss, his coaches<\/a>.<\/p>\n So, a lot of people asked me this spring about the differences between Shildt and Stammen.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t deny that it is refreshing to work with a manager who is comfortable in his own skin.<\/p>\n But I also try to point out as often as I can that Shildt has won at least 90 games in all four full seasons he managed. Just 13 other managers have ever begun their career by doing that.<\/p>\n Stammen may or may not turn out to be a winning manager. All he experienced yesterday was how helpless someone in his job can be.<\/p>\n \u201cHumbling, I guess,\u201d he said of his first day. \u201cYou hope it goes well, but got off to bad start. Just the game of baseball, you know. But it was a lot of fun for me to be in the dugout and lead the guys and hopefully get back after it tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n There being fewer cringeworthy moments in press conferences is nice for me and my media brethren. But that really doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n It should matter to fans, however, that Stammen is who he is, because his confidence, genuine empathy and relatability plays in the clubhouse.<\/p>\n You really need to look no further than the quotes by Stammen in my story from earlier this week (here<\/a>) about how the Padres plan to rest Manny Machado more in 2026. It takes someone entirely confident in his relationship with Machado to not only relay the message to Machado that he will be serving as designated hitter and\/or getting more days off but to say a couple of the things Stammen said in that story.<\/p>\n If you missed it in the offseason, I went to Stammen\u2019s hometown and wrote (here<\/a>) about how he became the Padres\u2019 North Star.<\/p>\n Help a brother out<\/p>\n Now is a good time to remind you that while this newsletter is free, the resources expended to cover it are not.<\/p>\n You can help by spending $1 for a one-year digital subscription to the Union-Tribune<\/a>. And who doesn\u2019t want to pitch in?<\/p>\n We write, on average, three Padres stories a day during the season and more than 100 over the course of the offseason. If you do the math, you\u2019ll find that to be a bargain.<\/p>\n Tidbits<\/p>\n Joe Musgrove played catch yesterday for the first time since he left his only spring training start on March 4. An update on Musgrove is in Sanders\u2019\u00a0 notebook (here<\/a>). All right, that\u2019s it for me.<\/p>\n Talk to you tomorrow.<\/p>\n \t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/XBstartfin.png\")
<\/p>\n
Padres lineup
vs Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal<\/p>\n
Bogaerts SS
Machado 3B
Merrill CF
Andujar DH
Sheets 1B
Laureano LF
Fermin C
Cronenworth 2B<\/p>\n
\nYesterday\u2019s attendance of 45,673 was the largest for any of Petco Park\u2019s 23 opening days. It was the fifth-largest regular season crowd in the ballpark\u2019s history.
\nBradgley Rodriguez went two innings for the first time in his eight big-league appearances. By retiring all six batters he faced yesterday, the 22-year-old right-hander dropped his career ERA to 0.93 over 9\u2154 innings. He has struck out 12 of the 37 batters he has faced.
\nJason Adam leaves today for Sacramento, where he will pitch for Triple-A El Paso on Saturday. His plans after that are unclear, as rain is anticipated in Tacoma, Wash., where the Chihuahuas are scheduled to play a series beginning Monday. Adam, whose season was ended by a torn quad tendon last September, is eligible to come off the injured list April 6.
\nThe plan was for Griffin Canning to make a rehab start for the Chihuahuas in Tacoma next week. Rain could prompt the Padres to send him somewhere else.
\nLaureano hit his 10th home run with the Padres yesterday. Just 13 players, including Fernando Tatis Jr. (12) and Gavin Sheets (11), have hit more in their first 51 games with the franchise.
\nRead about the sights and sounds at opening day in Kirk Kenney\u2019s \u201cScene & Heard\u201d column (here<\/a>).
\nYou may have noticed the new video boards affixed above the tower loft suites on either side of Petco Park. Check out what Tom Krasovic wrote (here<\/a>).
\nKevin McGonigle\u2019s debut lived up to the hype. The Tigers\u2019 21-year-old third baseman, who was drafted 37th overall in 2023 and finished last season in Double-A, doubled in his first two at-bats and finished 4-for-5. He is just the sixth player since 1900 to have four hits in his first big-league game and the youngest to do it besides Ken Griffey Jr. and Delino DeShields in 1990.<\/p>\n