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Northern California and Southern California will clash as another critical matchup with playoff implications on the line is set to take place on Saturday between the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. It is time to take a look at our MLB odds series, where our Giants-Padres prediction and pick will be made.
Now with a 41-41 record, the Giants are experiencing a losing slide that has not been felt in San Francisco in quite some time. In fact, if the Giants drop game three of this series today as well, they will be under .500 for the first time since the opening week of the 2021 season. Starting this one out on the mound to avoid that from happening will be southpaw Carlos Rodon who is 7-5 with a 2.87 ERA in 16 games started.
The Padres had been in the midst of a winning slump themselves before taking advantage of the Giants on Thursday and Friday night. San Diego will turn to the super talented Yu Darvish to counter with Rodon. Darvish is 7-4 with a 3.53 ERA on the year.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Giants-Padres MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Giants-Padres Odds
San Francisco Giants: -1.5 (+162)
San Diego Padres: +1.5 (-196)
Over: 6.5 (-128)
Under: 6.5 (+104)
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Why The Giants Could Cover the Spread
When it rains, it pours. The once contending Giants have seemingly seen their season be turned upside down. The harsh reality and cruelty of baseball guarantee that teams will go through rough patches over the course of a 162-game season. However, it's about how a group weathers the storm when they are faced with adversity. The Giants have failed to do so, as they possess a 1-8 record in their past nine including a 4-14 mark in their previous 18. While it may seem like the sky is falling in San Francisco, the time is now for the Giants to start playing like how they are capable of performing.
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It all starts with Carlos Rodon on the rubber. Although the Giants are in an extreme rut, Rodon looked the part in his last three outings by combining for 21 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched. Rodon possesses a pitching arsenal that includes four different types of pitches.
Before the season, Rodon has always pitched with a fastball, changeup, and slider, but decided to add a curveball into the mix to keep opposing batters more unbalanced in 2022. Obviously, this may be a reason for Rodon's success this season, as the 29-year-old lefty is seventh in the league with 112 strikeouts.
The Giants' offense has definitely been silenced as of late, but taking the pressure off of Rodon and giving him one-run support may be priority number-one for San Francisco. In fact, the Giants' offense has done their job for a majority of the season with a .318 on-base percentage and 381 runs scored, which is good for eleventh in the league.
Why The Padres Could Cover the Spread
While it was far from perfect, San Diego jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and did not let San Francisco have an ounce of breathing room after that in their 6-3 victory over their California rivals. Now with two straight wins over the Giants, San Diego is hoping that they are starting to get into a rhythm with two more games to still be played in this series. Not to mention, the Friars are still within reaching distance of the Dodgers for first place in the NL West as they trail by six games.
The Padres' biggest strength on this roster is its dominance from the mound. Setting down batter after batter has become their specialty. San Diego is tied for the most amount of quality starts from starters and has compiled a team ERA of 3.55. This unit is surely where the Padres make magic happen. Furthermore, twirler Yu Darvish is putting together an impressive campaign. Outside of a harsh outing against the Dodgers last Saturday, Darvish has proved that he can still make people miss with 19 strikeouts in his last two starts.
All eyes will be on arguably San Diego's best player, third baseman Manny Machado in this one. Homering in his last two games, Machado was named a starter at third base for the 2022 MLB All-Star Game in Los Angeles. The do-it-all MVP candidate can change the tide of a game with one swing of the bat, so best believe that the Giants will pitch extremely carefully when he steps inside the batter's box.
Final Giants-Padres Prediction & Pick
Even with how poor the Giants have been playing, they are still considered the favorites by the betting public with a -1.5 spread to their names. Because of this, selecting the Padres to cover the +1.5 spread might be the lock of the day. San Francisco is slumping hard and they may be stuck with a losing record for the first time in more than a year when the dust settles on this warm, summer night in San Diego.
Final Giants-Padres Prediction & Pick: Padres +1.5 (-196)
