The San Diego Padres silenced the Atlanta Braves down the stretch of their Opening Day matchup on Thursday.
Padres relievers get job done in season opener
The Padres’ bullpen inherited a tied game at 3-3 entering the fourth inning. Braves slugger Austin Riley’s 401-foot home run off of Padres righty Alek Jacob was the only run that their unit gave up the rest of the way.
San Diego saw Yuki Matsui notch two strikeouts in the fifth inning. Jason Adam made quick work of his three batters faced in the eighth inning to set up closer Robert Suarez.
The Padres put the Braves’ high-powered slugging attack away thanks to Suarez preventing five hitters, including four of Atlanta’s best sluggers — Jurickson Profar, Matt Olson, Marcell Ozuna, and Ozzie Albies — from scoring.
Padres relief unit will be pivotal throughout 2025 season
San Diego’s relievers will be crucial to the Padres winning as many games as possible in the regular season. San Diego is down former All-Star starter Yu Darvish due to inflammation in his throwing elbow.
Additionally, the Padres will move forward with two new starters — Nick Pivetta and Kyle Hart — to begin the campaign. Thus, San Diego will lean on their star hurlers to drive home leads late in games. They’re off to a great start to the season so far.
