Closing out their four-game tilt with the Braves, one of the Friars’ new faces had an opportunity to ingratiate himself to the San Diego faithful.

Right-hander Nick Pivetta made his Padres debut on Sunday Night Baseball, and the fiery right-hander certainly made an impression.

Entering this game, he had a career 4.93 ERA vs. the Braves, but he saw that number go down with his new team. Pivetta rattled off seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no runs. The right-hander walked zero batters and struck out four, getting whiffs on 20% of swings against him.

Pivetta’s arm angle was higher in this game than it was in any game last season with Boston, something that has become a storyline since Spring Training, and this allowed his fastball to average over 22 inches of induced vertical break. Pivetta’s lone hit allowed came off the bat of Orlando Arcia, who entered the game hitting 6-for-9 against the Padres right-hander in his career. To really put Pivetta’s dominance into perspective, the right-hander faced the minimum through seven innings.

The Padres faced a familiar foe on the mound, and Braves right-hander A.J. Smith-Shawver.

The Padres last faced him in the 2024 NL Wild Card Series, where Fernando Tatis Jr launched a massive 440-foot home run in the two-game sweep. Tatis faced the Braves right-hander to lead off the bottom of the first inning, and on a check-swing, lined a hustle double to right field. An opposite-field double by Manny Machado plated the Padres’ first run of the game, giving San Diego a 1-0 lead. Machado, who exited the Padres’ previous game with a right calf cramp, looked to be in no pain on his double or throughout the game.

Mama, there goes that man. pic.twitter.com/jzJeA1xrYO

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 30, 2025

The RBI double was the Padres’ soupe du jour when it came to scoring runs. The third inning saw the Padres again threaten, and Xander Bogaerts delivered after a walk to Jake Cronenworth. On a hanging slider from Smith-Shawver, Bogaerts lined a double to left field at 104.2 mph, yet another hard-hit ball for the Padres’ shortstop. While Pivetta was dominant for San Diego, Smith-Shawver lasted four innings for the Braves, mystifying batters with his changeup while the Padres pushed their runs across, taking advantage of the young right-hander’s command issues.

Left-hander Jose Suarez held the Padres scoreless through two innings after Smith-Shawver exited, but his streak came to an end in the seventh. Fernando Tatis Jr drew a walk from Suarez, and Jackson Merrill continued his blazing start to the regular season with an RBI double off a hanging slider from the left-hander. Merrill finished the series hitting .462 with a 1.005 OPS, a great way to set up for his first career MLB bobblehead night on March 31.

Jason Adam came on for the eighth inning, and while a one-out walk set up the inning for a Braves rally, a ground ball off the bat of Michael Harris II resulted in a double play when Luis Arraez, on the receiving end of a strong throw from Manny Machado, threw behind Marcell Ozuna, who was attempting to advance to second base. Ozuna was tagged out by Jake Cronenworth, sending the Petco Park crowd into cheers.

GOT ‘EM pic.twitter.com/Zpaw0LErau

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 31, 2025

Insurance runs came across in the eighth against the veteran right-hander Hector Neris. Three days after failing to retire a batter, Neris walked and allowed a stolen base to Xander Bogaerts, and Brandon Lockridge lined a double to the right field corner to bring the score to 4-0. Lockridge promptly stole his first base of the season, and Fernando Tatis Jr didn’t leave him hanging. Tatis lined a low liner to left that ticked off the glove of Braves third baseman Austin Riley, scoring Lockridge to increase the lead to 5-0. Tatis took an aggressive turn to second base but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double. Tatis’s speed was a factor in this series and could be an integral part of the team’s performance this season.

Jeremiah Estrada was tasked with setting down the Braves with a five-run lead, and in a microcosm of the series, proceeded to mow down the Braves batters, striking out the side to secure the team’s first 4-0 start since 1979.

Notables from the Game:
– Nick Pivetta’s debut was the first game of his career where he went seven innings, allowing one hit or fewer with no walks or runs allowed, per Sammy Levitt

Tonight was the first time in his career that Nick Pivetta has ever thrown 7 shutout innings, allowed 1-or-fewer hits, and didn’t issue a walk.

— Sammy Levitt (@SammyLev) March 31, 2025

– San Diego’s four-game sweep over the Braves marked the team’s first four-game sweep over the Braves since May 28-31, 1979. The Padres’ starting pitcher at the end of the sweep? Eric Rasmussen, who allowed one run on four hits with four strikeouts in seven innings.

The Padres’ four game sweep of the Braves was their first vs Atlanta since May 28-31, 1979.

Their starter on May 31? Eric Rasmussen.

His final line: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K#Padres pic.twitter.com/Df908dKjyq

— Diego Garcia (@StatNerd_Base) March 31, 2025

The Padres welcome the visiting Cleveland Guardians starting on March 31. Kyle Hart makes his Padres debut after winning the 2024 Choi Dong-won Award in the KBO, while right-hander Luis L. Ortiz starts for the Guardians. Ortiz made two starts against the Padres last season with the Pirates, allowing five runs in 11 innings total.

The first pitch is scheduled for 6:40 pm.

Diego Garcia

A born and raised San Diegan, Diego Garcia is a lifetime Padres fan and self-proclaimed baseball nerd. Diego wrote about baseball on his own site between 2021-22 before joining the East Village Times team in 2024. He also posts baseball content on his YouTube channel “Stat Nerd Baseball”, creating content around trades, hypotheticals, player analyses, the San Diego Padres, and MLB as a whole.

A 2024 graduate of San Diego State, Diego aims to grow as a writer and content creator in the baseball community.