The Padres are 11 games over .500 at home so far to start 2025. That will certainly play if the Padres play .500 on the road, which they can get to with a win on getaway day this morning in Detroit.
First pitch is at 10:10 a.m. on Padres.TV.
The Padres went 3-3 on their first road trip of the season, taking a series in Oakland after losing two of three in Chicago. This time, they are looking to do take two of three in Detroit after losing two of three in Houston.
The Padres (17-7) enter the series finale tied with the Mets for the best record in baseball. In the NL West, they are a game up on the Dodgers (16-8) and two on the Giants (15-9), both of whom lost on Tuesday. The Diamondbacks (14-9), however, won and have closed to within 2½ games in the division.
For the matinee, Fernando Tatis Jr. will get his first half-day off of the season, a prudent move with Thursday’s off day giving him essentially two days off his feet.
Good morning from Detroit ☀️ pic.twitter.com/tWs8Zu5BRY
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 23, 2025
Tatis lost more than two months last year to a stress reaction in his quad. He has played all but one game this year, sitting on April 9 in Sacramento after exiting a day earlier due to discomfort in his surgically repaired shoulder
Tatis has reached base in all 23 of his starts this year. He is tied for the NL lead with Tommy Edman with eight homers, is second in the majors with 1.9 fWAR, is sixth in the majors with a 1.061 OPS and is hitting .344/.417/.644 to start the season.
With Tatis serving as the DH, Oscar Gonzalez will start in right field and Tirso Ornelas will get his second start in left field since Saturday’s call-up.
Ornelas is 0-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
Gonzalez is hitting .303/.303/.333 with four RBIs in 12 games.
Ornelas will hit fifth, followed by Gonzalez. Second baseman Jose Iglesias will hit seventh, followed by center fielder Tyler Wade and catcher Martín Maldonado in the nine-hole.
Here is how the Tigers (14-10, 2nd in AL Central) will line up for the series finale:
Rubber match ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/Y128pFYvD3
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) April 23, 2025
Wednesday’s pitching matchup
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.
Because Hart is in the majors for the first time since 2020, he has zero big-league history with any Tigers.
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.
Here is how he’s fared against current Padres:
