San Diego Padres Opening Day Lineup Notes vs Milwaukee Brewers

Here we go, ladies and gentlemen! The field is painted, the beer is tapped, and the lineups are officially out. It’s time for San Diego Padres baseball!

It’s been a spring training full of speculation and closely contested positional battles, however, that’s all over with. The San Diego Padres have officially released their Opening Day lineup as they take on the Milwaukee Brewers today at Petco Park. First pitch is scheduled for 1 pm PT and can be seen on Fox Sports San Diego and MLB.TV.

San Diego will send LHP Clayton Richard to the mound to match up against RHP Chase Anderson of the Brewers.

Richard finished fifth among starting pitchers in ground-ball percentage (59%) and now has Freddy Galvis and Eric Hosmer behind him on the infield. Despite a 4.79 ERA, Richard posted a 4.23 FIP and 3.76 xFIP. Fans get the chance to see just how much an improved defense will help Richard in 2018.

The Brewers feature two new bats in their lineup, outfielders Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain. Cain and his former Kansas City teammate, Eric Hosmer, will battle it out against each other in brand new uniforms. A first-inning home run by Hosmer over the leaping glove of Cain would be one heck of a way to start the 2018 season for Padres.

San Diego Padres feature a fun batting order.

All eyes will be on Eric Hosmer as he makes his much anticipated San Diego Padres’ debut today. Different projected lineups by fans and bloggers have featured Hosmer batting anywhere from second in the lineup to fourth. Meanwhile, the biggest question mark has been where does Freddy Galvis slot in?

Time for some answers. Here is the starting lineup for the game one of 162!

Not a lot of surprises with this lineup. With the Friars going up against a right-handed pitcher who isn’t prone to giving up the long-ball, it makes sense that Andy Green went with Jose Pirela in today’s game over Hunter Renfroe.

Batting Chase Headley behind Carlos Asuaje is somewhat interesting. Headley may not hit for a high average but he gets on base at a very high clip. Asuaje did have a clutch spring training, especially with runners in scoring position.

After the top three in the batting order, I’m not sure the rest is a huge deal for this Padres’ team. At the end of the day, the bottom of the order will have to prove they can hit the ball consistently. Going up against a rotation of Anderson, Jhlouys Chacin, and Brent Suter, the lineup needs to come out swinging, setting the tone from the first series of the season.

As for the Brewers, here’s their hitter-heavy lineup. The Brew Crew are playing in their first road Opening Day game since 2011.

Next: Breaking Down Each Of the Upcoming Brewers' Probables

Happy Opening Day Friar Faithful! Whether you’re at Petco Park, at home, or enjoying the game behind your employer’s back at work, enjoy the game! Follow us on Twitter @FriarsonBase as we live the tweet the game and interact with the rest of Padres’ nation!