• Monday: 3:40 p.m. (Padres.TV, FS1)
• Tuesday: 3:40 p.m. (Padres.TV)
• Wednesday: 10:10 a.m. (Padres.TV, MLBN)

In the standings

San Diego Padres (16-6, 1st in NL West)

Despite losing two of three in Houston, the Padres have the best record in baseball, a half-game better than the Dodgers. They are 4-5 so far away from Petco Park and have the majors’ second-best run differential at plus-35. The Padres took two of three last year from the Tigers in San Diego, but did not see AL Cy Young-winner Tarik Skubal and will not face him this week.

Detroit Tigers (13-9, 1st in AL Central)

The Tigers are a half-game up the Guardians in the division and have the majors’ seventh-best run differential at plus-17. Last year, manager A.J. Hinch guided Detroit to a 17-8 September for the Tigers’ first wild-card berth in a decade. The Tigers were eliminated in five games by the Guardians in the ALDS.

Trending

San Diego: The Padres lead the majors in batting average (.276) and on-base percentage (.346), are fourth in slugging (.424) and second in ERA (2.74), with the bullpen leading the majors with a 1.57 ERA. OF Fernando Tatis Jr. has accounted for four of the team’s seven home runs over the last six games (1.441 OPS) and 1B Luis Arraez has two (1.173 OPS). SS Xander Bogaerts is hitting .158/.273/.263 over his last six games.

Detroit: The Tigers are 11th in batting average (.246), 18th in slugging percentage (.387) and third in ERA (3.12), and the bullpen is a strength with a 3.04 ERA, fifth lowest in the majors. The Tigers have four home runs in their last seven games, with two coming from 1B Spencer Torkelson (.915 OPS). OF Kerry Carpenter has one homer and a 1.040 OPS over that stretch, while 2B Colt Keith is 2-for-13 (.368 OPS).

Keider Montero #54 of the Detroit Tigers throws a pitch during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on April 16, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

Pitching matchups

Monday

Padres RHP Randy Vásquez (1-1, 1.74 ERA)  |   He has not allowed a home run through his first 20 ⅔ innings, while his hit rate is down from 10.9 per nine innings last year to 6.1. Vásquez, however, is averaging 6.1 walks per nine innings. His only history with the Tigers was allowing one run in 2⅓ innings in 2023 as a reliever with the Yankees.

Tigers RHP Keider Montero (0-1, 9.00 ERA)  |   He allowed three home runs in five innings in his first start of the season despite striking out eight in five innings in a loss last weekend in Milwaukee. The 24-year-old had a 4.76 ERA in 98 ⅓ innings as a rookie last year, which includes allowing five runs in 4⅓ innings to the Padres at Petco Park.

Tuesday

Padres RHP Nick Pivetta (3-1, 1.57 ERA)  |   His lone road start this year was allowing three runs in three innings on April 5 in Chicago. Right-handed hitters have a .677 OPS so far against Pivetta and left-handers have a .278 OPS. He has a 3.15 ERA in 20 career innings against the Tigers. He lost two starts last year against Detroit (3.18 ERA, 11 IP).

Tigers RHP Jack Flaherty (1-1, 2.53 ERA)  |   The 29-year-old is looking for his first quality start of the season, although he has at least pitched into the sixth in three of his four trips to the mound. Flaherty has 4.45 ERA in six career regular-season starts against the Padres. He has allowed five runs in 11⅓ career innings in postseason matchups with San Diego.

Wednesday

Padres LHP Kyle Hart (2-1, 6.48 ERA)  |   The 32-year-old rookie has a 15.88 ERA on the road and a 1.64 ERA at Petco Park. Righties also continue to give him problems, combining for a .333/.386/.667 batting line compared to lefties’ .071/.071/.071.

Tigers RHP Reese Olson (2-1, 4.50 ERA)  |  The third-year starter has just one quality start so far in four trips to the mound, as he beat the White Sox on April 5 (6 IP, 2 ERA). Olson threw five shutout innings at the Royals in his last start, also a win. He has a 1.64 ERA in two home starts, the site of both wins. Olson allowed five runs in five innings in 2023 in his only start ever against the Padres.

2025 clubhouse leaders

• OPS: Padres—OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (1.128), DH Gavin Sheets (.890), 3B Manny Machado (.861); Tigers—1B Spencer Torkelson (1.029), OF Kerry Carpenter (.899), UT Zack McKinstry (.809).
• Homers: Padres—Tatis (8), OF Jackson Merrill (3), 1B Luis Arraez (3); Tigers—Torkelson (7), Carpenter (5), OF Riley Greene (3).
• RBIs: Padres—Tatis (16), Sheets (11), Merrill (10, Machado (10); Tigers—Torkelson (21), Carpenter (11), McKinstry (11).
• Steals: Padres—Tatis (7), Machado (6), SS Xander Bogaerts (4); Tigers—2B Gleyber Torres (2), OF Ryan Kreidler (2), several tied with 1.
• Saves: Padres—RHP Robert Suarez (9, 0.00 ERA), LHP Adrián Morejón (1, 0.87 ERA); RHP Tommy Kahnle (4, 1.04 ERA), LHP Brant Hurter (2, 2.77 ERA), RHP Will Vest (1, 1.04 ERA).
• Holds: Padres—RHP Jason Adam (8, 0.75 ERA), RHP Jeremia Estrada (5, 1.54 ERA), Morejón (2), LHP Wandy Peralta (2, 1.08 ERA); RHP Beau Brieske (2, 8.59 ERA), several tied with 1.

Training room

San Diego: 1B Luis Arraez was carried off the field on a stretcher after a collision at first base, but he was back in the clubhouse after Sunday’s game after a visit to the hospital. He was expected to fly to Detroit on Monday morning. OF Jason Heyward (knee) joined a groining list of position players on the injured list. OFs Jackson Merrill (hamstring) and Brandon Lockridge (hamstring) hit the injured list last week and did not travel with the team. The staff is without RHPs Yu Darvish (elbow), Matt Waldron (oblique), Bryan Hoeing (shoulder), Sean Reynolds (foot) and Jhony Brito (forearm).

Detroit: OF Kerry Carpenter exited Sunday’s game with right hamstring soreness. He is day-to-day. The lineup is without OF Parker Meadows (arm nerve), C Jake Rogers (oblique), OF Matt Vierling (rotator cuff), OF Wenceel Pérez (back) and OF Manuel Margot (knee), while the pitching staff is without RHP John Brebbia (triceps), RHP Alex Cobb (hip), RHP Beau Brieske (ankle), RHP Ty Madden (rotator cuff), RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (elbow, hip), RHP Alex Lange (lat) and RHP Jose Urquidy (Tommy John).

Originally Published: April 21, 2025 at 10:30 AM PDT