SAN DIEGO -- Man, it’s good to have baseball back.
Fun Opening Weekend at Petco Park. Sure, Thursday’s opener was a bit of a dud. But the Opening Day atmosphere is always top-notch. And I thought the games on Friday and Saturday were both highly entertaining.
The Padres finished their first series 1-2 after salvaging Saturday’s finale against the Tigers. Here are six reactions to the weekend:
1. We’ll see more from this offense
The Padres scored only seven runs across three games. I still thought their at-bat quality was solid. It doesn’t help, of course, that they opened the season by facing Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez on consecutive days.
“You could have the best approach in the world against those first two guys, and it probably isn’t going to work out more often than not, just based on ... what they’ve done [in their careers],” said Jake Cronenworth. “All of us stuck with it.”
Indeed, they did. The Padres chased Tigers starter Jack Flaherty by the fifth inning on Saturday. Especially notable for me -- a year after San Diego trotted out an Opening Day lineup with Yuli Gurriel, Brandon Lockridge and Elias Díaz -- was the contribution from the bottom third.
2. Ramón Laureano isn’t slowing down
What a pickup. Laureano turned in arguably the best season of his career last year. And he’s showing no signs of regression. Not only did Laureano come out mashing this year -- hitting .417 with a homer and a 1.167 OPS -- he was robbed defensively a couple times, as well.
As things stand, Laureano is hitting sixth against lefties and seventh against righties. I think he’ll stay around there for a short while. But if he keeps this up, I have a hunch he’ll be hitting a lot higher than that in the somewhat-near future. Speaking of lineups ...
3. Cronenworth at the top
I think there’s plenty of sense to batting an on-base threat like Cronenworth in the top spot against right-handed pitching. For one, he sees the most pitches on the team. It’s an exhausting at-bat. And then, as an opposing pitcher, you’ve got to deal with Fernando Tatis Jr.? Potentially with Cronenworth aboard?
Of course, Cronenworth, who struggles against lefties, shouldn’t be anywhere near the top against left-handed starters. Thus far, it’s been Tatis in the leadoff spot, with Xander Bogaerts hitting second against left-handed pitching. We’ll see how that plan evolves.
4. Asking the right bullpen question
At a different point on the calendar, I think the Padres win on Friday. I think skipper Craig Stammen goes to Mason Miller, his lockdown closer, with one out in the eighth and Miller slams the door.
But I also think it’s fair to give pitching coach Ruben Niebla and his department the benefit of the doubt. If they want to slow-play Miller in the closer role, well, they have a track record of getting the absolute most out of their relief arms. Niebla and Co. determined before Friday’s game that Miller would be unavailable for more than one inning. Stammen stuck to that plan, even as Jeremiah Estrada faltered.
If there’s something worth questioning in the bullpen, maybe it’s this: Jason Adam (left quad surgery) looked ready in the Cactus League. But he was left off the roster because, presumably, he wasn’t ready for a full workload and for pitching on back-to-back days. Still, considering the number of early off-days, there was a case to carry Adam -- even if it means you’re using him sparingly and pitching a man short on some nights.
If they’re carrying Adam, I also think they win Friday’s game. Then again, I’m still giving this pitching group the benefit of the doubt.
5. I haven’t learned much about the rotation
I love this version of Randy Vásquez, and Michael King looked like his old self. Nick Pivetta, meanwhile, struggled and later acknowledged that he could’ve done a better job controlling his adrenaline.
But did we learn anything, rotation-wise, from Opening Weekend? I don’t think so. I’m way more curious about Walker Buehler and Germán Márquez over the next couple days. And I’m even more interested in the rehab processes of Joe Musgrove and Griffin Canning.
Those are the guys who will make or break the Padres’ 2026 rotation. Not the three guys who pitched this weekend.
6. Stammen’s first win
“About time,” said Tatis, attempting deadpan before breaking out into a grin.
The Padres closed their clubhouse for a few extra minutes after Saturday’s game to celebrate Stammen, who picked up his first career victory as manager. Remember, a number of these players were teammates with Stammen during his Padres tenure.
“Super happy for him,” Cronenworth said. “You could see how happy he was and the weight off his shoulders.”
A weight off the shoulders indeed, ahead of a rare Sunday off-day.
“It’s a little easier,” Stammen said, “going into the off-day with a win.”