The San Diego Padres are looking to avoid being swept by the Detroit Tigers in their first series of the 2026 season.

The Padres were blown out on Opening Day, 8-2, at the hands of Tarik Skubal. They then lost, 5-2, on Friday night as the bullpen wasn’t able to hold a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning.

On Saturday, the Padres will look to salvage the first series of the year. They’ll be facing a right-handed starting pitcher for the first time this season.

Padres vs Tigers Pitching Matchup on Saturday

Right-handed pitcher Randy Vásquez is taking the mound for the Padres against Tigers right-hander Jack Flaherty.

Vásquez was one of the biggest bright spots in the Padres rotation a year ago, pitching 133.2 innings and sporting a 3.84 ERA. He’ll look to pick up where he left off a year ago as he tries to stabilize a rotation with tons of question marks.

As for Flaherty, he had an uneven 2026 season, making 31 starts and pitching 161 innings while sporting a 4.64 ERA with 188 strikeouts. He allowed 11 runs across 12.2 innings this spring.

Padres Starting LineupJake Cronenworth, 2BFernando Tatis Jr., RFManny Machado, 3BJackson Merrill, CFXander Bogaerts, SSGavin Sheets, 1BRamón Laureano, LFNick Castellanos, DHFreddy Fermin, C

The Padres’ third game of the season brings their third new lineup.

With a right-handed starter on the mound for the first time, the Padres are going with the left-handed Jake Cronenworth leading off and Fernando Tatis Jr. right behind him.

Xander Bogaerts is batting fifth ahead of Gavin Sheets, while Nick Castellanos is getting his first start of the season as the designated hitter. Freddy Fermin is back in the lineup after a day off and batting ninth.

How to Watch Padres vs Tigers on Saturday

First pitch for Padres vs. Tigers on Saturday, March 28 is 5:40 p.m. PT/6:40 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Padres.TV and in the MLB App.

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)

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

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