San Diego Padres pitcher Nick Pivetta made his first Opening Day start of his career when the Padres hosted the Detroit Tigers at Petco Park to open the 2026 season. The start did not go the way Pivetta or his new manager Craig Stammen would have hoped as Pivetta was tagged for six runs on seven hits over three innings as San Diego suffered an 8-2 loss to Detroit.
Pivetta started strong with a strikeout of Kerry Carpenter, but he then issued a walk, a bloop single, and two additional walks leading
to a 1-0 lead for the Tigers. Kevin McGonigle who was making his MLB debut then hit a two-run double to put Detroit ahead, 3-0 before an RBI-single by Dillon Dingler pushed the score to 4-0. Pivetta bounced back to strikeout Parker Meadows and Javier Baez to end the top of the first inning, but with Tigers ace Tarik Skubal on the mound, the Padres had work to do to get back in the game.
San Diego got a one-out single from Xander Boagerts and a single from Manny Machado to put runnors on the corners with one out in the bottom of the first inning, but Jackson Merrill was unable to check his swing on a third-pitch strike and Miguel Andujar grounded out to second base to end the inning.
Pivetta allowed two more runs in the third inning and Ron Marinaccio, who came in to replace Pivetta in the fourth, allowed two runs on a two-run home run by Dingler to put the Tigers ahead, 8-0.
The Padres avoided the shutout with a run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Fernando Tatis Jr. reached on an error and Bogaerts hit an RBI-double down the left field line that allowed Tatis Jr. to score from first to make the score, 8-1. San Diego tacked on an additional run in the bottom of the seventh inning with a solo home run from Ramon Laureano with two outs in the inning to make the score 8-2.
San Diego will have its first chance to get Stammen his first career win as a manager when the Padres host the Tigers on Friday at 6:40 p.m.
Padres News:
- Jase Bowen pushed the competition for the backup outfield bench position to the last week of Spring Training. In the end, veteran Bryce Johnson won the job and was added to the Opening Day roster. It may have had something to do with experience and familiarity, but it may also have to do with the fact that Johnson is out of options and if the Padres release him he would have to clear waivers in order to be sent to the minors. Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ball believes the Friar Faithful have not seen the last of Bowen in 2026 and that he should be the first callup if anyone in the San Diego outfield is forced to miss any time.
- Xander Bogaerts had a solid Opening Day performance. The Padres shortstop was hitting in the two-hole against Skubal and recorded two hits off the two-time American League Cy Young Award winner which included an RBI-double. Bogaerts was the bright spot on an otherwise gloomy season-opening performance from the Padres.
- Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune says the Padres fans did their part on Opening Day despite the apparent struggles of the team on the field. The Friar Faithful packed the stadium and set a new Opening Day attendance record.
- Joe Musgrove is back on the mound, and the hope is that he can begin working toward his return to the MLB roster.
Baseball News:
- Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout returned to center field for the 2026 season and he returned to hitting home runs on Opening Day.
- In his first Opening Day start Jacob Misiorowski struck out 11 batters to help the Milwaukee Brewers get a 14-2 win over the Chicago White Sox. The positive news from the game for the White Sox was that Masataka Murakami hit his first MLB home run.
- A 109-year-old threw out the first pitch at the Baltimore Orioles game against the Minnesota Twins. The Orioles went on to win the game, 2-1.
- Pittsburgh Pirates superstar pitcher Paul Skenes, who may be pursued by the New York Yankees, was knocked out of his Opening Day start against the New York Mets in the first inning. Mets rookie outfielder Carson Benge hit his first MLB home run in the contest.
- Tanner Bibee of the Cleveland Guardians left his start against the Seattle Mariners in the bottom of the sixth inning due to right shoulder inflammation.
- Nico Hoerner and the Chicago Cubs reached an agreement on a six-year extension.
- Jackson Chourio of the Milwaukee Brewers was placed on the Injured List prior to the season opener due to a left hand fracture.
- Outfielder Tommy Pham and the Mets have reached an agreement on a minor league deal that could bring him back to New York
