Padres win their home opener...

Patience at the plate combine with good pitching of native Aaron Harang, turned out to be the difference Tuesday afternoon as the Padres scored a 3-1 win over the reigning world champion San Francisco Giants before 43,146 atPetco Park.

"Walks done right can be just as important as run-scoring hits," Padres hitting coach Randy Ready said this spring while preaching the gospel of "selectivity" in Arizona.

With the score tied 1-1 and runners on first and second with two out in the third, Ludwick came back out of an 0-and-2 hole Madison Bumgarner to draw a 10-pitch, bases-loading walk.

Headley then worked through eight pitches to draw the walk that forced home the decisive run.

Even Bumgarner was impressed by the Padres' "selectivity."

"I made some good pitches," said the left-hander who pitched the Giants' World Series-clinching win last November. "They put together some good at-bats.

"Their hitters did a fantastic job. They spoiled all the good pitches."

"Friar Ball," is how Ludwick described the three-run third off Bumgarner, who retired the Padres in his first two innings on a total of 29 pitches.

The Padres' three-run third consumed 41 Bumgarner pitches.

The frustration by Bumgarner might have resulted in the Padres' final run.

After Headley's walk forced in the second run, Chris Denorfia topped a ball in front of the plate. Bumgarner fielded the ball with plenty of time to make a play at first. But the ball flew out of his hand as he turned toward first -- the play was ruled a hit.

Nick Hundley opened the inning with the first of his three hits and was sacrificed to second by Harang. Jason Bartlett then drew an eight-pitch walk from Bumgarner before Orlando Hudson singled to load the bases.

Jorge Cantu tied the score with a wicked liner of a sacrifice fly to left.

That brought up Ludwick, who was down to his last strike after two pitches. He fouled off four of the next eight pitches en route to his fourth walk in as many games -- including a bases-loaded walk against the Cardinals.

That walk brought Headley to the plate. PaBumgarner fell behind with a pair of balls before firing three straight strikes, two of which Headley fouled off. Bumgarner just missed with the next two pitches, Bartlett trotting home from third.

Meantime, Harang held the Giants to one run on six hits over six innings while the bullpen troika of Luke Gregerson, Mike Adams and Heath Bell closed out the Padres' third win in four games.