Tigers 8, Padres 2: Tarik Skubal, Kevin McGonigle, Dillon Dingler, Will Vest

Mar 26, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Detroit Tigers third baseman Kevin McGonigle (7) hits a double during the third inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images | David Frerker-Imagn Images Welcome back, Tigers fans! The long winter is over and we have real baseball that counts for real stats on our screens and on our radio.

The Tigers started the 2025 season against some of the hardest National League opponents in the game with the Dodgers. Today they did it again, squaring off against Nick Pivetta and the San Diego Padres. As it turns out, the damage wouldn’t be nearly as bad on Opening Day this year.

The Tigers would lean on Tarik Skubal, and they’d hand him a nice lead before he even took his first pitch of the season. Things got started for the Tigers right in the first inning as Pivetta showed a lot of nerves, having a hard time finding the strike zone, and the Tigers didn’t hesitate to take advantage of the opportunity. After a leadoff strikeout by Kerry Carpenter, Gleyber Torres took a walk.

Colt Keith then gave a little bloop single that should have probably been an out, but Ramon Laureano couldn’t quite get under it, putting two men safely aboard. Riley Greene walked to load the bases, then a Spencer Torkelson walk brought in the Tigers’ first run of the season. Your browser does not support the video tag.