Whew, that was close!<\/p>\n
By beating the San Francisco Giants 7-1 on Wednesday, the San Diego Padres not only avoided a three-game sweep, but probably saved the fan base, or at least a good portion of it, from having a massive meltdown.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n It hasn\u2019t been a great start for the Padres and their long-suffering fans, who got a day off to breathe a little easier.\u00a0<\/p>\n Losing two of three to the Detroit Tigers was one thing. The Tigers made the playoffs each of the last two seasons and feature two-time AL Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal, who beat the Padres on Opening Day. Of course, then the Tigers were swept in a three-game series at Arizona, and rookie Kevin McGonigle, who had a brilliant debut against the Padres, cooled off.\u00a0<\/p>\n But then came the beleaguered San Francisco Giants and their rookie manager, Tony Vitello, who unlike the Padres\u2019 rookie manager, Craig Stammen, never so much as played in the major leagues, let alone coached or managed in the bigs before president of baseball operations Buster Posey hired him away from his job as coach at the University of Tennessee to replace the fired Bob Melvin.<\/p>\n After the Giants were outscored 13-1 in getting swept by the New York Yankees in their opening series, they flew south and won the first two games against the Padres, 3-2 and 9-3. Germ\u00e1n M\u00e1rquez was worked over in his Padres debut<\/a> in the second game, allowing four runs and eight hits in just three innings.\u00a0<\/p>\n A loss in the third game of the series could have sent the Padres and their fans into a tailspin. But Nick Pivetta rebounded from his Opening Day beatdown<\/a>, Ram\u00f3n Laureano launched his second home run \u2014 a two-run shot in the four-run eighth \u2014 after being moved up to fifth in the batting order,<\/a> and Mason Miller nailed down a four-out save that sent the Padres on a proverbial \u201chappy flight\u201d to Boston for a three-game series starting Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n OK, so 2-4 and tied with the Rockies and Giants, two games behind the hated Los Angeles Dodgers, isn\u2019t ideal.\u00a0<\/p>\n But at least a nice afternoon in downtown San Diego wasn\u2019t ruined. Fan overreactions, which so far have included who should bat leadoff and why in the heck hasn\u2019t Laureano been moved up in the order, were pushed down the road for at least one day.<\/p>\n Miller\u2019s four-out save was interesting on two points.\u00a0<\/p>\n First, it came five days after Stammen and his brain trust decided that the fireballer wouldn\u2019t be available for a four-out save<\/a>, a thought process that didn\u2019t change even after Jeremiah Estrada and Wandy Peralta blew up while trying to hold a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning of a game the Tigers would win 5-2.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be an option at some point in the season. Just not in Game 2,\u201d Stammen said.<\/p>\n So it became an option in Game 6 because the Giants, trailing 3-1, had a runner on base with two outs in the eighth and the potential tying run coming to bat.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe kind of needed a win. It\u2019s important to get a win.\u201d Stammen explained. \u201cWhen we can get a win, we\u2019ve got to get one. Having the appropriate time off after a one-plus (outing) is what we were looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n Miller got Heliot Ramos to pop up to second base to end the eighth-inning threat and then sat through a four-run rally in the bottom of the inning. He opened the ninth by allowing a leadoff single by former Padres first baseman Luis Arraez \u2014 who had three of the Giants\u2019 four hits \u2014 before striking out the side.\u00a0<\/p>\n Second, Miller\u2019s save opportunities will be far more entertaining during night games than day games simply because of the visuals.<\/p>\n Miller sent an absolute jolt through the Petco Park crowd and well beyond with the debut of his walkout song, \u201cBlind\u201d by Korn on Saturday night. As a shadowy image of a grim reaper appeared on the video board, the stadium lights went out entirely and then flickered as Miller jogged in from the bullpen. Fans stood and roared, and singer Jonathan Davis\u2019 \u201cAre you ready?\u201d growl dropped just before Miller hit the infield dirt.\u00a0<\/p>\n Miller worked around a two-out walk to earn his first save as the Padres\u2019 new closer and clinch the first win of the Stammen era. Even before the final out, the video of Miller\u2019s entrance had gone viral online and was widely lauded, particularly among nu metal aficionados.\u00a0<\/p>\n It was easily the most electric walkout since Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman\u2019s entrance to AC\/DC\u2019s \u201cHells Bells\u201d debuted in 1998 when the Padres still played at Qualcomm Stadium.<\/p>\n Mason Miller’s new closer entrance in San Diego is pretty epic pic.twitter.com\/PZwwlHqcCm<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) March 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Now, about Padres fans and overreactions.<\/p>\n Thursday wasn\u2019t so quiet after all, even for being an off day. The Padres posted a teaser for the April 9 launch of their new City Connect jerseys<\/a> \u2014 the first one lasted just three-and-a-half seasons \u2014 and it does indeed appear that, according to earlier leaks<\/a>, they will have a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) theme.<\/p>\n Among the first reactions: \u201cI\u2019m ready to be disappointed\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m already disappointed.\u201d<\/p>\n Anything less would be \u2026 disappointing. The season appears to be in full swing.<\/p>\n Sign up to our free newsletter<\/a> and follow us on Facebook<\/a> and X\/Twitter<\/a> for the latest news.<\/p>\n