Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.
It was the Padres' decision not to play on Easter Sunday this season.
Like many other teams, the Padres were allotted four days for the season-opening, three-game series against the Brewers at Petco Park.
For years, Major League Baseball has put an off-day in the middle of the season-opening series at ballparks that don't have a roof to protect against a team losing Opening Day to weather. With Opening Day falling on a Thursday for all teams this year, that gave teams a choice as to whether they wanted the Friday or Sunday off.
Like many teams, the Padres chose Sunday, knowing they expected big crowds on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Plus, designating Sunday as the off-day protected against a rainout in any of the first three games.
The Padres have had Sundays off before. It was typically due to the Chargers playing home games on Sundays when the teams shared the stadium in Mission Valley, Calif. It also happened on road games in other cities that shared their stadium with a National Football League team.
The last time the Padres had a Sunday off was 1995.
But this was the first time that the Padres weren't scheduled to play on Easter Sunday when Easter was during the season. But the Padres' scheduled game on Easter in 1982 was rained out at Dodger Stadium.
Notebook
• The Padres were, of course, swept by the Brewers in the season-opening series. The Padres haven't started a season with a 0-4 record since 1994.
• Even though Clayton Richard allowed only one run over seven innings in the season-opener, the Padres' starting-pitching ERA after three games is 5.17. Richard was the only starter to complete five innings.
• The Padres' two offseason acquisitions are off to solid starts. Shortstop Freddy Galvis hit safely in each of the season's first three games and was 5-for-12 against the Brewers with a home run and three RBIs. First baseman Eric Hosmer was 4-for-12 with two doubles and two RBIs. Both also turned in highlight-video-quality defensive play against Milwaukee.

• Outfielder Hunter Renfroe tripled Friday night in his first at-bat against Brewers left-hander Brent Suter. Renfroe has a .315 career batting average against left-handed pitchers with a .389 on-base percentage and .693 slugging percentage, which totals out to a 1.082 OPS. Against right-handed pitchers, Renfroe's slash line is .215/.255/.432. He has struck out once every 2.96 at-bats against right-handers and once every 4.9 times against southpaws.