Padres Host Giants Starting Tonight, Looking to Get Right
After dropping the opening series to Detroit, the Padres get a short turnaround with the San Francisco Giants coming to Petco Park for three games starting tonight. This is exactly the kind of series the Padres need to use to shake off a rough week one and get something going.
The Pitching
Tonight is Walker Buehler against Landen Roupp, and there is reason to feel good about that matchup.
Buehler came into spring training on a minor league deal and earned his spot on this roster the right way. He was the most consistent arm competing for a rotation spot all spring and showed the kind of stuff that made him one of the better pitchers in the league before his Tommy John surgery. Yes, last season was a grind at times, but he was excellent down the stretch, posting a 2.53 ERA over his final seven starts. That version of Buehler showed up in spring training. If he pitches tonight the way he did late last year, the Padres win this game.
Germán Márquez is also a reason for genuine optimism whenever he takes the ball in this series. Coming over from Colorado, which is one of the worst pitching environments in baseball, he now gets to call Petco Park home. That park change alone matters for a guy who pitches to contact the way Márquez does. He led all Padres pitchers in spring strikeouts and in the final spring outing he punched out eight batters in under five innings. He had Tommy John surgery back in 2023 and has been working his way back ever since. He is only 30 years old and has the repertoire to be a real asset in the back of this rotation. If he can string together a few good outings early, he could become one of the more pleasant surprises on this staff by May.
One person who will probably be watching Márquez closely is Bud Black, who is now back in the organization as a senior advisor to baseball operations. Black managed the Rockies from 2017 until last May, which means he had a front row seat to Márquez's best years and knows him as well as anyone in the building. That familiarity is a nice wrinkle. Having a guy in your corner who already knows how you work and what you are capable of is not nothing when you are trying to prove yourself again.
The Giants will likely counter with some combination of Robbie Ray and Logan Webb over the final two games. Webb is the real concern. He is one of the better starters in the National League and threw over 200 innings last season. The Padres will want to get to him early if he pitches in this series.
The Giants Lineup
San Francisco made moves this winter. Willy Adames signed a massive deal and joins Rafael Devers and Matt Chapman in a lineup that has real firepower. That said, the Giants have barely scored through their first few games. The bats have not woken up yet. Petco Park is a great place to keep them quiet.
What the Padres Need
The offense needs to be more consistent. Tatis has looked good but Machado, Merrill, and Bogaerts all need to start producing together on the same night. That has not happened yet and the Padres cannot keep relying on one guy to carry an inning.
The bullpen situation with Adam still out is not going away, but Stammen has had a few days to think through his options and hopefully has a cleaner plan for close games than what we saw against the Tigers.
Three games at home. A Giants offense that has not found its footing yet. Buehler and Márquez both ready to prove themselves. The Padres should win this series.