The Detroit Tigers got the best of the San Diego Padres on Opening Day on the shoulders of two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and AL Rookie of the Year candidate Kevin McGonigle.
It was a tough Opening Day for San Diego Padres fans as they watched their team fall 8-2 to the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.
Tigers left-hander and back-to-back American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal settled in nicely after navigating out of some first inning trouble, allowing just one unearned run on three hits with six strikeouts over six innings.
It was a tough day for the Padres immediately. Right-handed starter Nick Pivetta lasted just three innings after giving up a four-spot in the first inning on three hits and three walks. He gave up six runs on seven hits and three walks across the three innings with four strikeouts.
The real star of the show was Major League Baseball No. 2 prospect shortstop Kevin McGonigle, who went 4-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored in his MLB debut. It was a strong showing for the 21-year-old who has been placed firmly in the AL Rookie of the Year conversation already.
But the beauty of a long 162-game season is that an Opening Day loss doesn’t have to define it. The Padres can bounce back against one of the top free agent acquisitions from this past offseason, lefty Framber Valdez.
Valdez was a mainstay in the Houston Astros starting rotation from 2020 to 2025, winning the World Series in 2022 and earning two All-Star selections. He will go up against a talented and dangerous San Diego lineup that had the unfortunate duty of facing the best pitcher in baseball a day ago.
1. Fernando Tatis Jr. (RF)
2. Xander Bogaerts (SS)
3. Manny Machado (3B)
4. Jackson Merrill (CF)
5. Miguel Andujar (DH)
6. Ramon Laureano (LF)
7. Ty France (1B)
8. Jake Cronenworth (2B)
9. Luis Campusano (C)
Tatis, Machado and Laureano each had a hit in the opener with Laureano hitting a towering 423-foot blast in the seventh inning of the opener. Bogaerts collected two hits in four trips and drove in San Diego’s other run in the sixth. This lineup, with the exception of Andujar and Campusano, have seen Valdez a plethora of times and have a combined batting average of .239 against him lifetime (22-for-92).
The Padres turn to right-hander Michael King to get the team back on track and shut down a fierce Detroit offense. King was re-signed to a three-year, $75 million deal during the offseason in an absolute must-have situation for San Diego.
1. Kerry Carpenter (RF)
2. Gleyber Torres (DH)
3. Zach McKinstry (2B)
4. Riley Greene (LF)
5. Spencer Torkelson (1B)
6. McGonigle (3B)
7. Dillon Dingler (C)
8. Parker Meadows (CF)
9. Javier Baez (SS)
While McGonigle made a tremendous impact in his debut, Dingler had a nice performance as well, going 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and three RBI. Meadows is 1-for-1 and Baez is 1-for-3 against King in their careers.
First pitch is at 9:40 p.m. ET on MLB.TV.