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Inside The Padres

Padres Opening Day Lineup: Batting Order, Starting Pitcher, Injury Report, How to Watch

Everything you need to know about the Padres on Opening Day.
Noah Camras|
Sep 21, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) celebrates his solo home run with teammates in the dugout against the Chicago White Sox during the third inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images
Sep 21, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) celebrates his solo home run with teammates in the dugout against the Chicago White Sox during the third inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

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San Diego PadresDetroit Tigers

The San Diego Padres are taking on the Detroit Tigers to kick off the 2026 Major League Baseball season. Both teams have playoff aspirations, making this a great first test heading into the new season.

Padres vs Tigers Pitching Matchup

Right-handed pitcher Nick Pivetta is taking the mound for the Padres against reigning back-to-back Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal.

Pivetta is coming off the best season of his nine-year career, going 13-5 with a 2.87 ERA and 190 strikeouts across 181.2 innings pitched in his first year with the Padres.

Skubal is coming off a 2025 season in which he had a 2.21 ERA with 241 strikeouts across 195.1 innings. It was even better than his 2024 season, in which he had a 2.39 ERA with 228 strikeouts across 192 innings.

Padres Lineup vs Tigers on Opening Day

  1. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
  2. Xander Bogaerts, SS
  3. Many Machado, 3B
  4. Jackson Merrill, CF
  5. Miguel Andujar, DH
  6. Gavin Sheets, 1B
  7. Ramón Laureano, LF
  8. Freddy Fermin, C
  9. Jake Cronenworth, 2B

While this is the lineup on Opening Day, it may not be the Padres lineup every time against left-handers. Manager Craig Stammen plans to tinker with the lineup often as he nails down who's the best in what spot.

"I won't have a set lineup," Stammen said. "Maybe we get going into the season, it's like: This is how we score runs the best. That may be what it's like. But at least at the beginning, we're going to try new things, try different things, and we'll see what shakes out the best."

Tigers Lineup vs Padres on Opening Day

How to Watch Padres on Opening Day vs Tigers

First pitch for Padres vs. Tigers on Thursday, March 26 is 1:10 p.m. PT/4:10 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Padres.TV and in the MLB app.

How to Watch Padres in 2026

Most games will be streamed on Padres.TV, and the Padres announced that games will also be available via cable on the following channels:

  • Cox (Channel 83)
  • DirecTV (Channel 694-3)
  • AT&T Uverse (Channel 781 or 1781)
  • Spectrum (Channel 305 or 443)

National broadcasts will be on ESPN, AppleTV+, Fox, ESPN and NBC/Peacock, while 10 regular season Saturday games will be available on CBS 8 (KFMB) and the CW.

Games will be broadcast on the radio on 97.3 The Fan (in English) and XEMO 860 (in Spanish).

Padres Injury Report Ahead of Opening Day

The Padres have nine players on the injured list heading into the 2026 season.

Padres 10-Day Injured List

Padres 15-Day Injured List

Padres 60-Day Injured List

Padres Restricted List

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Published | Modified
Noah Camras
NOAH CAMRAS

Noah Camras graduated from the University of Southern California in 2022 with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in sports media studies. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and has extensively covered Southern California sports in his career. Noah is the publisher of Padres on SI after contributing as a writer and editor over the last three years.

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