SAN DIEGO -- In the fourth inning on Monday night, Jackson Merrill got a hold of a hanging slider from Guardians left-hander Logan Allen. He launched it 411 feet to the beach area in right-center field, the toughest place to leave Petco Park.
It was another reminder: These Padres can mash.
Half an inning later, Michael King completed his night with three straight strikeouts. He punched out Daniel Schneeman with a changeup, Brayan Rocchio with a heater and Steven Kwan with a slider. King would give way to a bullpen that still hasn¡¯t allowed a run since the fourth inning on Opening Day.
It was another reminder: These Padres can pitch.
Then came the bottom of the fifth inning. Jose Iglesias beat out an infield hit and moved to second with an excellent read on a wild pitch. Elias D¨ªaz bunted him to third base, and Fernando Tatis Jr. got him home with a sacrifice fly.
It was another reminder: These Padres can play small ball with the best of 'em, too.
Add it all up, and they're off to a 6-0 start -- the best start in franchise history, as San Diego continued its flawless first week of the 2025 season with an emphatic 7-0 victory over the Guardians on Tuesday night.
¡°It¡¯s just winning baseball,¡± said Tatis, who walked twice and stole a base. ¡°We are proving ourselves out there.¡±
On their season-opening winning streak, the Padres have done just about everything well. Tuesday night was no different. King struck out 11. Merrill hit his first homer of the season. In the late innings, they ran wild. And their bullpen locked it down -- as it¡¯s done all season. That ¡®pen has now combined to pitch 24 consecutive scoreless frames for a 0.38 ERA on the season.
¡°It¡¯s a good brand of baseball,¡± said Padres manager Mike Shildt.
Indeed, the Padres will happily take the victories. But they seem more pleased with the manner of those victories. They established an identity in the second half last season. Coincidentally enough, that identity first began to shine through during a three-game series in Cleveland coming out of the All-Star break.
The Padres rode that identity -- crisp, clean, exhilarating baseball with a ruthless streak -- to a 43-19 finish. The ending to their 2024 season was so crushing, largely because of what they had established during that second-half surge. The offseason brought questions about whether they could carry that identity over into the ¡¯25 season.
Through six games, the Padres haven¡¯t merely carried that identity over -- they¡¯ve built on it. On the basepaths, they¡¯ve been ruthlessly aggressive. In the seventh inning alone, Tatis, Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts all swiped second base. By the end of the game, all three ranked among the top six in the National League in stolen bases.
It¡¯s more than the steals, too. On multiple occasions Tuesday night, the Padres were sound in their decision-making, taking extra bases on balls in the dirt or other Guardians misplays.
¡°It¡¯s just constant pressure, looking to take everything the opponent¡¯s going to give us, everything that¡¯s out there,¡± Shildt said. ¡°Situationally, [we¡¯re] being aware of it and trusting it -- going and being aggressive with intelligence behind it.¡±
How does that come about?
¡°We just have really good baseball IQ inside of this room,¡± Tatis said. ¡°Then, after that, it¡¯s just the preparation and having the guts to actually do it on the baseball field.¡±
After Merrill¡¯s home run, the Padres mostly played small ball. They never relented, scoring in each of the final five innings. There have been some tight games played at Petco Park early this season. But Tuesday was not one of them. For all intents and purposes, the Padres cruised to 6-0.
The only trouble with that record -- it doesn¡¯t put them in first place. As you¡¯ve likely noticed, the Dodgers haven¡¯t lost either. They improved to 7-0 with a win over Atlanta in L.A. on Tuesday night. It marks the first time since divisional play began in 1969 that two NL teams have opened a season with six straight victories.
¡°It¡¯s way too early,¡± King said when asked whether there was any need for the Padres to pay attention to their Southern California rivals. ¡°I¡¯ve said that the teams that get out hot, you know they¡¯re going to come back to earth. We feel like we¡¯re a team that is not going to come back to earth.¡±