Padres Score: Xander Bogaerts Lone Bright Spot in San Diego's Opening Day Loss

Well, that didn't go according to plan...

The San Diego Padres fell to the Colorado Rockies on Opening Day and start off their season 0-1. The final score was 7-2 and nothing seemed to be going right for the Friars down the stretch. Outside of Xander Bogaerts, nobody seemed to generate enough offense and the Rockies took full advantage of the constant pitcher changes.

Manny Machado got the ball rolling with a fly ball that brought Trent Grisham to home plate and gifted the Padres their first run of the match in the first inning and tied the game 1-1.

Manny Machado’s sacrifice fly brings Trent Grisham home to tie the game at 1! @fox5sandiego @Padres pic.twitter.com/fQR6RH3xbe

— Frank Jefferson (@_frankjefferson) March 31, 2023

Blake Snell also found himself in a rocky situation near the end of the third inning as Colorado had runners on second and third with no outs. How did Snell Respond? Try three straight strikeouts.

Blake Snell's 3Ks in the 3rd.

7Ks thru 3. pic.twitter.com/NHOWLTFFO3

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 31, 2023

Anybody that had any doubts of whether or not Xander Bogaerts would shine will all the other stars on the Padres this year got to see for themselves what he's made of. The veteran shortstop went 3-4 at the plate and also notched two double's.

Padres may have lost but what a debut for Xander Bogaerts: 3-for-4, 1 R, 2 2B pic.twitter.com/HO49a7U5j4

— Talking Friars (@TalkingFriars) March 31, 2023

Xander Bogaerts on playing in front of the fans at Petco Park: “Yeah, I heard it’s like a night club…I know for sure it’s gonna be loud out there.” pic.twitter.com/Jb2drNKimg

— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) March 30, 2023

Xander Bogaerts gets his first hit as a Padre! pic.twitter.com/ea6hUSgOnW

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 31, 2023

However, despite Snell performing up to par and not allowing too many big hits, the Friars' coaching staff was not pleased with the amount he was throwing for each batter and had him taken out in the early seventh inning. He was replaced by Nabil Crismatt, who immediately gave up a three-run homer to C.J. Cron.

Cron would continue to build off of this and add another home run to his daily collection in the seventh inning. When the Padres opted to put Domingo Tapia on the mound, he gave up a homer as well to Elehuris Montero.

Some are saying CJ Cron is the best hitter in the division. https://t.co/kjRlOHi4FG

— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) March 31, 2023

CJ Cron tonight:

4-5
2 HR
5 RBI

First 2-HR, 5-RBI game on Opening Day since Matt Davidson in 2018. pic.twitter.com/Mmk6ZKD0RX

— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 31, 2023

Other big names on the Padres failed to produce in the first game of 2023. Outside of his sacrifice hit, Machado only recorded a single and Juan Soto failed to garner a single hit. It is clear that San Diego will need to address their bullpen situation for nights like these where runs are not coming in.

You got to feel bad for the fans who still sold out the arena despite the game being postponed. A better performance should be in store Friday against the Rockies once again now that the rust is shaken off.