Friars On Base
Fansided

Padres News: Opening Day Recap

By Andrew Beccarelli

facebooktwitterreddit

Happy Opening Day, Friar Faithful. After months and months of anticipation, our new-look San Diego Padres finally took the field in Los Angeles, against the rival Dodgers.

Wil Myers (0-3) not only got the first at bat for the Padres, he also got the first hit-by-pitch, the first stolen base, and the first run scored of the 2015 season.

Matt Kemp (2-4) came up to bat third for the Padres to a standing ovation from the Dodger fans in attendance. Kemp singled and drove in the first 3 RBIs of the season.

More from Padres News

James Shields got the start for the Padres. The big-arm free agent kept the Dodgers scoreless through three innings, until giving up a home run to former Padres’ first baseman, Adrian Gonzalez. Shields finished with six hits and two runs in six innings. His counterpart, Clayton Kershaw, finished with nearly identical stats, except for three runs instead of two.

Nick Vincent was the first bullpen arm of the season to come in to relieve in the seventh. Vincent got the first two outs quickly enough, but allowed the Dodgers to tie it up and was then pulled and replaced by Frank Garces. Garces then walked the next Dodger batter and was then replaced by Shawn Kelley. Kelley got the next batter to ground out on the first pitch and end the inning.

Things took a turn for the worse in the eighth, when Jimmy Rollins hit a three run homer off Kelley to give the Dodgers a 6-3 lead and eventually the win. Not the Padres debut Kelley was hoping for.

We may have lost, but of all the things I can take away from this game, the biggest impression on me this Opening Day is how aggressive the bats were. Even facing an elite pitcher like Kershaw, the Padre hitters went after him. Sure, not all swings were successful, but there was a lot of contact that nine out of ten times would be singles or doubles if not for some pretty good plays by the Dodgers outfielders. I’ve got a feeling this Pads Squad is going to put up bigger numbers against lesser pitching this season, and that’s something I have not been able to say for a very long time.

Today was the beginning of a long long season. So much can happen between April and September. Stay tuned to Friarsonbase.com for all your San Diego Padres news and updates.

Go PADS!

So, what were your impressions of Opening Day?

More from Friars on Base

Home/Padres News