After San Diego dropped the first two games of the Opening Series versus Detroit, the two teams met Saturday for the finale.

Jack Flaherty would be the starter for the Tigers, and Randy Vásquez started for the Padres.

First lineup of 2026 versus a right-handed starter

After batting ninth and eighth, Thursday and Friday versus southpaws, Jake Cronenworth batted leadoff Saturday versus Flaherty. Nick Castellanos got his first start in a Padres uniform as the designated hitter.

Closing out the series. pic.twitter.com/MZWwTdQ7jb

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 28, 2026

Padres’ bats strike in the third

Tigers’ starter Jack Flaherty was cruising through 2 2/3 innings to start his season. He retired the first eight Padres he faced. Freddy Fermin recorded his first hit of the season with a single to left field, with two outs in the bottom of the third. Cronenworth followed Fermin with a base hit single of his own to make base runners on second and third. Then Fernando Tatis Jr. stroked an opposite-field line drive base hit to score Fermin for his first RBI of the new season. This made it 1-0 Padres.

Do your thing, @tatis_jr ?‍? pic.twitter.com/bTm7fKmsoc

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 29, 2026

The next at bat, Tatis Jr. stole second base, and an errant throw by catcher Jake Rogers allowed Cronenworth to score to extend the Padres lead to 2-0. All the damage was done with two outs and starting at the bottom of the order.

The next at bat, Tatis Jr. stole second base, and on the errant throw by catcher Jake Rogers, Cronenworth scored to make it 2-0 Padres.

Scratching away another in the fifth

With an out recorded in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Padres walked the bases loaded for themselves. Cronenworth and Tatis Jr. drew back-to-back four-pitch walks. Manny Machado made Flaherty work even more, drawing a seven-pitch walk, which would load the bases for Jackson Merrill.

The three consecutive walks would end Flaherty’s first start of the year. He would throw 89 pitches in just 4 1/3 innings of work.

Left-hander Brant Hurter came in to face the left-handed Merrill. Hurter would induce a ground ball resulting in a fielder’s choice, scoring a run for San Diego. This would extend their lead to 3-0 in the fifth.

First quality start for the pitching staff

Randy Vásquez would turn in the first quality start of the year for the Padres’ pitching staff on Saturday night. In an area that seemed volatile coming into Opening Day, Vásquez would be a key piece to the team’s success in the lengthy season. He would pitch six innings, allowing two hits and no earned runs. In his outing, Vásquez walked three men and struck out eight. In the first inning, Vásquez would allow three base runners and allow none to reach home. After the 24-pitch first inning, he would settle in nicely, averaging 13.4 pitches an inning through the rest of his outing.

Randy Vásquez’s 2Ks in the 5th.

8Ks thru 5 pic.twitter.com/wz2PM2fDzA

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 29, 2026

Vásquez tallied 13 whiffs and reached a top pitch velocity of 97.8 mph on his sinker, a pitch that had an average velocity of 93.1 mph a year ago.

Hart fills key innings

Kyle Hart started last year as the Padres’ fifth starting pitcher. In 2026, he earned a spot in the bullpen after having a strong spring, with injuries within the pitching staff. Hart was stellar in his seventh and eighth innings in relief of Vásquez. He retired all six men he faced, striking out Kevin McGonigle, Matt Vierling, and Gleyber Torres. Hart made great work of the Tigers’ offense, throwing 23 pitches with 14 of them being for strikes. Hart filled in very nicely for a role that Adrián Morejón would likely have. The Padres probably do not want Morejón to pitch back-to-back nights this early into the season.

Closing it out…

Mason Miller made his first appearance as the Padres’ closer, running out to Blind by Korn. Miller recorded his first save of the young season in his first appearance of the season on Saturday night. He would strike out Colt Keith, looking at a backdoor slider, which was confirmed by ABS after a failed challenge by Keith. Miller would get McGonigle chasing on a slider in the dirt to secure the Padres’ first victory of 2026, with a final score of 3-0.

March 28, 2026’s matchup versus the Detroit Tigers would mark the first win of Craig Stammen‘s managerial career.

Giants coming into town for three starting Monday

The Padres will have a rare Sunday off following Saturday night’s game versus Detroit. They will welcome the Giants into town, who have started the season 0-3 after getting swept by the Yankees at home. Landen Roupp will start for rookie manager Tony Vitello, as Walker Buehler will make his Padres debut for fellow rookie manager Craig Stammen. First pitch on Monday is scheduled for 6:40 PM PT.

Angel Flores

Angel grew up a San Diego sports fan, following the Padres, SDSU athletics, San Diego FC, as well as the Chargers. He is currently a third year community college student, and will transfer to SDSU to pursue a career in Journalism.