As expected, the Padres’ bullpen looked strong. The offense supplied some quality at-bats, if not the desired combination of luck and results.
The starting rotation? It was already a source of concern, and on a day ripe for overreaction, it resembled a red flag.
In front of the largest Opening Day crowd in Petco Park history, the Padres’ 8-2 loss to Tarik Skubal and the Tigers underscored an obvious vulnerability. Nick Pivetta, who skipped a recent Cactus League outing because of arm fatigue, surrendered four runs before he recorded two outs. He lasted three innings and wound up allowing six runs, matching his season high in a breakout 2025. The Tigers took a 6-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth, before the Padres scored their pair of runs.
It’s only one game, and Pivetta remains the Padres’ most accomplished healthy starter. Still, it’s fair to wonder just how healthy he is after an abbreviated spring.
President of baseball operations A.J. Preller has indicated he’s already spent at least some of the financial savings from Yu Darvish’s trip to the restricted list. Padres fans should hope he hasn’t spent all of it. Lucas Giolito, anyone?