SAN DIEGO -- Safe to say, no manager before 2020 had ever endured a wait for his first victory quite like Jayce Tingler. The Padres made their decision to hire Tingler on Oct. 24, and nine months to the day, he finally got into the win column.

It was worth the wait.

Tingler hung back for a moment in the Padres' dugout, following their 7-2 Opening Day victory over the D-backs on Friday. When he retreated up an adjacent stairway, he was greeted with a socially distant showering of the usual clubhouse cocktail -- some water, some ice, some sports drinks and some beer.

At long last, Tingler had his first victory. Considering the reality of the past four months, he'd earned it.

"You want to get him off on the right foot,” said first baseman Eric Hosmer, whose six RBIs powered the victory. “Ting's been there with us the whole way, grinding in these months when we weren’t sure if the season was going to happen. ... Ting was putting in full days. It’s a credit to him."

Like everyone else, Tingler's reality was upended when the coronavirus pandemic shut down the baseball world on March 12. He, too, had questions as to whether a season would take place. But Tingler made sure those doubts never crept into anything more than a passing acknowledgement.

"It sounds so cliché, but we were truly day to day," Tingler said earlier this week. "We never really looked too far ahead. We just stay day to day with the things we need to get accomplished today. Then we start worrying about tomorrow basically at the end of practice."

It wasn't worth considering the alternate possibilities. Tingler resolved that he would keep the Padres prepared for a season at a moment's notice. But the logistics of that would be tricky, considering Padres players were spread across the country.

For the most part, that meant light workouts for players to maintain what they’d built in Spring Training. But it meant heavy lifting for Tingler in keeping tabs on them. Several worked out at Petco Park, but they did so in small groups spaced out throughout the day. Others did so at the team's Spring Training complex in Peoria, Ariz., under the same guidelines. A handful of players returned to their homes, awaiting word of their next step.

"We stayed in constant communication," outfielder Wil Myers said earlier this month. "He was great [at] keeping guys involved, letting people know what's going on. Since we've been here, he's kept us in line with our social distancing as well. He took it upon himself to really follow the rules and really make sure we get the most out of what's going on this year. "

Friday marked a long-awaited payoff for Tingler. But even as he prepped to fulfill a lifelong dream, he didn't deviate much from his routine. Tingler woke up early, went for a run, lifted weights, called his wife and kids via FaceTime, then headed to Petco Park.

As for the game, Tingler couldn't have scripted it much better. His stars delivered, removing any suspense from the occasion with a four-run seventh inning. It won’t always be so simple.

Tingler kept the lineup card; it'll be framed and hung in his office. After the celebration, he retreated to that office and changed clothes, so he wouldn’t be soaked for his postgame Zoom call with reporters. When asked about his first victory, Tingler predictably deflected credit to his players.

That's no surprise to Jurickson Profar, who has known Tingler dating back to their time in the Rangers organization. Tingler was Profar’s first professional manager in 2009 in the Dominican Summer League.

"It's the same guy,” Profar said. “He cares for his players, and he makes sure his players are ready to go every night. You can see it in us, too, in the energy we're going to bring to these games. He's [behind] all that."