The San Diego Padres<\/a> and Atlanta Braves<\/a> clashed in the season home opener at Petco Park. Throughout 9 innings, the two clubs played a long game of cat and mouse. Starting for the Padres was Michael King<\/a> and for the Braves was Chris Sale<\/a>. First up to bat for the Braves was former Padre Jurickson Profar<\/a>, who immediately knocked a single. Profar later scored thanks to an RBI forceout by Ozzie Albies<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Padres returned the favor with interest when it was their turn. Jackson Merrill<\/a> hit a line drive to center field, allowing Manny Machado<\/a> and Fernando Tatis Jr.<\/a> to score. This back and forth between teams continued up until Gavin Sheets<\/a> hit a home run off righty H\u00e9ctor Neris<\/a> in the bottom of the seventh inning. This gave the team the confidence to turn up the heat and turn the game into what would be a season home opening win for the Padres.<\/p>\n King had a below-average outing for his season-opening start. He couldn\u2019t get the Braves to chase any of his outside pitches. With his confidence shot, the Braves took the opportunity to score some early runs, eventually taking the lead by the 4th thanks to a homer from Austin Riley<\/a>. This lead would have stayed, but the seventh inning homer from Sheets completely changed the tide of the game. That being said, the Braves bit at every pitch they could have, and Profar in particular, had multiple showdowns with his former teammates from the Padres’ bullpen.<\/p>\n The Braves’ reputation precedes them. Time and time again they’ve proven themselves as an above-average club and one that doesn’t yield easily. This much was true in the early innings of the ball game. However, they quickly stopped producing as the game went on. Much of the headway they made toward the end of the game relied heavily on the defensive faults of the Padres- kinks the Padres will spend a lot of the early season ironing out. The Braves’ attempts at taking back the lead proved fruitless. After the 4th inning, the team couldn’t get on base until the ninth inning, and this was only due to a throwing error by shortstop Xander Bogaerts<\/a>.<\/p>\n After King left the mound, it was up to the Padres’ elite bullpen to pick up the slack, and they delivered the best job they could have under the circumstances. In tie games, the best thing a relief pitcher can do is hold down the fort for your batters to make headway. Despite a slip-up from Alek Jacob<\/a>, the bullpen did exactly that. In total, the team struck out seven batters and only walked two.<\/p>\n The Swinging Friars are some of the most fearsome batters in the majors, and today they proved exactly why that is. Merill drove in four runs, and his contributions ultimately changed what could have been a loss. Tat\u00eds Jr. had three hits and two stolen bases, as did Machado.<\/p>\n A messy outing from King ended the early lead the Padres took over the Braves in the first inning. By the time he reached his second out of the third inning, he was swapped out with Jacob. This turned out to be a good choice from the home team as their more than reliable bullpen held things down pretty well for the rest of the game.<\/p>\n Profar was the first person to cross home plate against the Padres this year after playing for them in the 2024 season.<\/p>\n For two years in a row Atlanta has opened their season in the same place their last season ended. This year at Petco Park, which is where they lost to the Padres in the 2024 NL Wildcard, and the previous year at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, where the Philidelphia Phillies<\/a> eliminated them in the 2023 NLDS.<\/p>\n This is the sixth time the Braves have played a season-opening game against the Padres.<\/p>\n Picking up today\u2019s win is Wandy Peralta<\/a> who replaced Jason Adam<\/a> in the top of the eighth. Robert Suarez<\/a> recorded a save. Neris was charged with this game\u2019s loss.<\/p>\n Reynaldo Lopez<\/a> and Dylan Cease<\/a> are the likely starters for game two of the opening series for the Braves and Padres, respectively.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\nWhat Went Right for the Braves<\/h2>\n
Early Game Shock-and-Awe<\/h3>\n
What Went Wrong for the Braves<\/h2>\n
Lost Steam<\/h3>\n
What Went Right for the Padres<\/h2>\n
Bullpen Consistency<\/h3>\n
Batting Consistency<\/h3>\n
What Went Wrong for the Padres<\/h2>\n
Michael King<\/h3>\n
Quick Hits<\/h2>\n
Looking Ahead<\/h2>\n
Main Image:<\/h3>\n