Padres Preview: Opening Day against the Dodgers

The Padres and Dodgers will meet this afternoon for their second Opening Day matchup in as many years. In the rematch from 2015's season opener, the Friars will face a familiar foe on the mound in Clayton Kershaw. And on the mound for the home team will be first-time Opening Day starter, Tyson Ross.

One of the three holdovers from last year's Opening Day rotation, Ross will try to get the team started on a high note. He's made ten career appearances (eight starts) against L.A., but hasn't had much to show for it. He's 0-6 in those ten outings, despite a modest 2.67 ERA and even a complete game against them.

Kershaw, on the other hand, has plenty of past success against the Padres. In 27 career starts against San Diego, Kershaw is 12-6 with a 2.25 ERA. However, he didn't record a decision against them in three starts in 2015.

One thing both of these teams have in common is that they're each debuting a new manager. For the Dodgers it'll be our old friend, Dave Roberts, making his big league managerial debut. For the Padres, it'll be rookie manager Andy Green.

As for the lineups, in addition to keeping their same Opening Day starter, the Dodgers will be fielding mostly the same team they did a year ago. But the Padres have made a number of changes from last year's roster, so this will be our first look at AJ Preller's revamped 2016 team. That includes new outfielder Jon Jay, who was impressive in Peoria this Spring, and veteran shortstop Alexei Ramirez, who will hopefully allow for some much-needed infield consistency for San Diego. Along with these new additions, the second-year Padre Wil Myers will be manning a new position on a regular basis. He takes over at first base for Yonder Alonso, who now plays for the Oakland Athletics.

First pitch for today's game is set for 4:05 pm PT, but pregame coverage on Fox Sports San Diego starts at 2:30 pm and will include the day's Opening on-field ceremonies and player intros.