The biggest winners, losers and overreactions from the San Diego Padres' first series of the 2026 season against the Detroit Tigers.
The San Diego Padres salvaged their opening series against the Detroit Tigers, winning the third and final game to move to 1-2 on the year ahead of Sunday's day off.At the end of the day, it was only one series, and the Padres still have 159 games to go in the regular season.
Nevertheless, it's never too early to look at some early winners and losers from San Diego's first series of the season — and a few overreactions.Randy Vásquez had a career year in 2025, acting as somewhat of a savior for the Padres rotation. This year, they'llVásquez shut down a strong Tigers offense, pitching six shutout innings with eight strikeouts. He helped lead the Padres to their first win of the season in dominant fashion.He's 5-for-12 with one home run, two runs batted in and an OPS of 1.167.Nick Pivetta entered the 2026 season with as much pressure as he's ever had after his breakout 2025 season. HePivetta allowed four runs in the first inning and lasted just three innings, giving up six runs. He'll have even more pressure in his next start against the San Francisco Giants to prove he can have an encore 2026 season. “I would love that game back,” Pivetta said after his outing. “But that’s not reality. That’s not how the world works. Just look to capitalize on a couple days off that I have here, get a good bullpen sesh, get back to who I am.”Jeremiah Estrada entered the eighth inning of a 2-1 game on Friday with the Padres looking for their first win of the season. He walked the bases loaded, allowed a game-tying hit and was then relieved by Wandy Peralta, who allowed three more runs to score — all charged to Estrada.“It’s unfortunate,” Estrada said after the game. “The way I look at it is it sucks to lose at the end of the day, but get the bad ones out of the way early. That’s all I can say.”Michael King had an injury-riddled 2025 season, spending nearly four months on the injured list and never fully being the pitcher he was the year prior. He had a rough spring, and was starting to raise some serious concerns heading into 2026 — just months after the Padres gave him a three-year, $75 million deal.King threw five innings, allowing just one unearned run while striking out six. He struggled with walks — allowing four free passes — but was able to limit the damage in a strong first showing.The Padres' first base platoon this season is expected to be comprised of Gavin Sheets, Ty France and Nick Castellanos, with Miguel Andujar potentially filling in, too.France has had one start at first base, where he went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.It's not a good start for any of the first base options. It's also early. That's why it's an overreaction.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.Top 50 MLB Prospects for 2026: Konnor Griffin, Kevin McGonigle Lead the Way
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