List of San Diego Padres Opening Day starting pitchers


The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. The Padres currently compete in the National League West division. The Padres first played their home games at San Diego Stadium, now called Qualcomm Stadium, and formerly called Jack Murphy Stadium, until, when they moved into Petco Park. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season, though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day. The Padres have used 24 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 42 seasons. The 24 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 15 wins, 14 losses and 13 no decisions. No decisions are only awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game.
The Padres' first Opening Day starting pitcher was Dick Selma, who received a win against the Houston Astros. Randy Jones, Eric Show and Jake Peavy tie the Padres' record for most Opening Day starts with four. Peavy has the most consecutive Opening Day starts with four. Jones and Andy Benes each have had three consecutive Opening Day starts. Benes has the most consecutive Opening Day losses with three from to.
Overall, the Padres' Opening Day starting pitchers have a record of eight wins and five losses at, what was now known, Qualcomm Stadium, and two wins and one loss at Petco Park. In addition, although the Padres were nominally the home team on Opening Day 1999, the game was played in Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico. The Padres' Opening Day starting pitchers' combined home record is eleven wins and six losses, and their away record is four wins and eight losses. The Padres went on to play in the MLB post-season five times, winning the National League Championship Series in 1984 and 1998. In those five seasons, the Opening Day starting pitchers had a combined record of three wins and 0 losses.

Key

SeasonEach year is linked to an article about that particular Padres season.
WWin
LLoss
ND No decision by starting pitcher; Padres won game
ND No decision by starting pitcher; Padres lost game
Final score Game score with Padres runs listed first;
extra innings are in brackets
LocationStadium in bold for home game
Pitcher Number of appearances as Opening Day starter with the Padres
*Advanced to the post-season
**Won the National League Championship Series

Pitchers

SeasonPitcherDecisionFinal
score		OpponentLocationAttendanceRef.
1969WHouston AstrosSan Diego Stadium23,370
1970WAtlanta BravesSan Diego Stadium25,125
1971LSan Francisco GiantsSan Diego Stadium34,554
1972WAtlanta BravesSan Diego Stadium16,655
1973 WLos Angeles DodgersSan Diego Stadium32,019
1974LLos Angeles DodgersDodger Stadium31,566
1975ND San Francisco GiantsSan Diego Stadium17,670
1976 WAtlanta BravesSan Diego Stadium44,728
1977 LCincinnati RedsRiverfront Stadium51,937
1978ND San Francisco GiantsCandlestick Park36,131
1979 WLos Angeles DodgersDodger Stadium46,536
1980 WSan Francisco GiantsSan Diego Stadium29,535
1981ND San Francisco GiantsCandlestick Park54,520
1982LAtlanta BravesJack Murphy Stadium30,188
1983WSan Francisco GiantsCandlestick Park50,542
1984**WPittsburgh PiratesJack Murphy Stadium44,553
1985ND San Francisco GiantsCandlestick Park52,714
1986 LLos Angeles DodgersDodger Stadium49,444
1987 ND San Francisco GiantsCandlestick Park52,020
1988ND Houston AstrosAstrodome39,906
1989 LSan Francisco GiantsJack Murphy Stadium52,763
1990LLos Angeles DodgersDodger Stadium48,686
1991 ND San Francisco GiantsJack Murphy Stadium48,089
1992 ND Cincinnati RedsRiverfront Stadium55,356
1993LPittsburgh PiratesThree Rivers Stadium44,103
1994 LAtlanta BravesJack Murphy Stadium42,251
1995 LHouston AstrosJack Murphy Stadium41,961
1996*ND Chicago CubsWrigley Field38,734
1997WNew York MetsJack Murphy Stadium43,005
1998**WCincinnati RedsCinergy Field54,578
1999 LColorado RockiesEstadio de Béisbol Monterrey27,104
2000ND New York MetsShea Stadium52,308
2001LSan Francisco GiantsPacific Bell Park40,930
2002ND Arizona DiamondbacksChase Field47,025
2003ND San Francisco GiantsQualcomm Stadium61,707
2004 WLos Angeles DodgersDodger Stadium53,850
2005* ND Colorado RockiesCoors Field47,661
2006*WSan Francisco GiantsPetco Park43,767
2007 WSan Francisco GiantsAT&T Park42,773
2008 WHouston AstrosPetco Park44,965
2009 LLos Angeles DodgersPetco Park45,496
2010LArizona DiamondbacksChase Field49,192
2011ND St. Louis CardinalsBusch Stadium46,368
2012LLos Angeles DodgersPetco Park42,941
2013 LNew York MetsCiti Field41,053
2014ND Los Angeles DodgersPetco Park45,567
2015ND Los Angeles DodgersDodger Stadium53,518
2016LLos Angeles DodgersPetco Park44,317
2017LLos Angeles DodgersDodger Stadium53,701
2018ND Milwaukee BrewersPetco Park44,659
2019WSan Francisco GiantsPetco Park44,655