Five games into the season, the Padres are sitting their first regular on Tuesday.

It also happens to be their best hitter so far.

Ramón Laureano will sit for Game 2 against the San Francisco Giants as Nick Castellanos will get his first start in left field and Miguel Andujar will start as the DH. First pitch is at 6:40 p.m.

A look at today’s lineup. pic.twitter.com/gCw7jTV7bU

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 31, 2026

Castellanos was out for early work before stretch and said he was good physically, so the tweak to the lineup is as simple as the three hitters’ history with Giants right-hander Logan Webb.

Laureano is 0-for-7 with a walk, a strikeout and a hit-by-pitch against the Giants’ ace. Meantime, Castellanos is 4-for-7 with a homer, a walk and two RBIs against Webb while Andujar is 3-for-7.

“When you don’t have the right-left mix, you’re just looking for better matchups,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “Those guys have past success. That doesn’t always mean anything. The R & D department says doesn’t mean anything at all. Me, personally as a pitcher, I know there were certain hitters that just had my number. Maybe that’s how those guys feel about facing Logan Webb tonight, and hopefully that’s the case.”

Either way, the Padres’ hottest hitter to start the season — Laureano is 5-for-14 with a double and a homer — will start on the bench as the Padres juggle how to get essentially four similar hitters in the lineup.

Laureano, Andujar, Castellanos and Ty France are all right-handed hitters who fit best in the field at a corner, whether that’s left field, first base or third base. France, of course, is an option at second base while Laureano can play all three outfield spots.

With Laureano out of the lineup on Tuesday, Andujar will serve as the sixth hitter, between shortstop Xander Bogaerts and first baseman Gavin Sheets. Castellanos will bat eighth and Freddy Fermin will catch.

The first five spots in the order against right-handed pitching remain unchanged.

In dropping three of their first four contests, the Padres are two games under .500 for the first time since June 19, 2024.

Four Padres also remain without hits this season as Sheets is 0-for-10, Luis Campusano is 0-for-5, France is 0-for-3 and Bryce Johnson is 0-for-1.

Here is how the Giants will line up for Game 2:

Webby’s back on the bump!

⌚️: 6:40 p.m. PT
📍: San Diego, CA
📺: @NBCSGiants
📻: @KNBR | KSFN#SFGiants | @CocaCola pic.twitter.com/iT5W39p7hh

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) March 31, 2026

 

Tuesday’s pitching matchup

Giants RHP Logan Webb (0-1, 10.80 ERA)

The two-time All-Star struck out seven but allowed seven runs — six earned — in five innings in a loss to the Yankees on opening day. Webb has a 3.15 ERA over 100 career innings against the Padres, but he lost two of his three starts (4.19 ERA) last year against San Diego.

Here is how Webb has fared against current Padres:

Padres RHP Germán Márquez (2026 debut)

The longtime Rockie has a 6.70 ERA in 130⅓ innings since his 2023 elbow reconstruction. Márquez has a 7.06 ERA in 20 career starts against the Giants and a 4.88 ERA in 12 games (11 starts) in his career at Petco Park. Márquez had a 5.17 ERA in his career at Coors Field.

Here is how he has fared against current Giants: