The San Diego Padres avoided getting swept this Opening Weekend, winning, 3-0, on Saturday night against the Detroit Tigers.
Everything went great for the Friars in the series finale. The offense gave the San Diego pitching staff some cushion (that they wouldn’t end up needing). Randy Vásquez dominated the Tigers through six innings, and the bullpen handled business afterward.
With that, the first win of the Friars’ 2026 season is in the books, and they’re looking to add more to the win column. Who
better to face than their division rivals from the Bay Area?
Taking the mound
Landen Roupp (SF) v. Walker Buehler (SD)
The 27-year-old Roupp will take the mound for San Francisco after impressing last season in his first full year as a starter.
Roupp converted over from the bullpen in 2024 and finished out ‘25 with a solid 3.80 ERA.
The Giants are pinning an abundance of hope on Roupp to perform in order to fill out the back end of their rotation.
More primarily, San Francisco has yet to win a game after being swept by the New York Yankees during Opening Weekend.
Buehler, on the other hand, struggled immensely in 2025 and is somewhat of a reclamation project for San Diego.
He was decent this spring and finished with a 6.60 ERA (most of that came from his final start where he got tagged for seven runs in three-and-a-third innings).
But if Buehler can find some of the form that saw him finish fourth in 2021 NL Cy Young voting, the Friars will see their starting rotation upside become a reality.
Batter up!
With Roupp being only the second right hander that San Diego has faced (and given that this formula worked against Detroit righty Jack Flaherty on Saturday), manager Craig Stammen will probably construct a lineup similar to that Tigers’ series finale:
- Jake Cronenworth, 2B
- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Jackson Merrill, CF
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Gavin Sheets, 1B
- Ramón Laureano, LF
- Nick Castellanos, DH
- Luis Campusano, C
It was a surprise to see Cronenworth in the leadoff spot for the Friars, but it will likely not be the last time.
Laureano could bat second after going 3-for-4 on Saturday night, but Tatis has a career .625 batting average against Roupp (eight at-bats). Tatis could even bat leadoff over Cronenworth due to that success.
Campusano is 2-for-2 in his career against Roupp, and he and starter Freddy Fermin have been sharing the backstop role relatively evenly thus far, so it seems possible he gets the start.
The DH spot will likely be filled by Castellanos with his splits versus righties being better than Miguel Andujar’s. But Ty France could also slot into that role since Castellanos has struggled at the plate so far (though France hasn’t been all that much better).
Relief corps
It’s impossible to understate just how much of a gem Vásquez pitched on Saturday night.
Because of that, only Kyle Hart (2 IP) and Mason Miller (1 IP) were used in relief. But with the strange, early off day that the Padres had Sunday, it’ll likely be all hands on deck with everybody available.
Miller was dominant in his 2026 debut for San Diego. The Friar Faithful can hope to see him close tonight so long as the offense can solve Roupp — alongside a shaky Giants bullpen.
