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The San Diego Padres take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Check out our MLB odds series for our Padres Dodgers prediction and pick.
Sean Manaea gets the ball for the Padres, while Julio Urias starts for the Dodgers.
Sean Manaea is going in the wrong direction, even though the Padres have had a generally good week. Manaea's last start came on Aug. 28, when the Padres lost 15-7 to the Kansas City Royals. Manaea gave up six runs in four innings. A month ago against the Dodgers, he gave up eight runs in four innings. His ERA in July was 5.40. His ERA in August was 7.88. Since the All-Star break, Manaea has delivered two quality outings: six innings, two runs allowed, on July 31 against the Twins, and seven innings, one run allowed, on Aug. 21 against the Nationals. That's it. His other starts since the break have been mediocre at best, often poor. The Padres need him to regain command and sharpness in the final month of the season.
Julio Urias is making a serious push for the National League Cy Young Award. With Tony Gonsolin injured, and with Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers clearly fading out of the race, it could be down to Urias and Sandy Alcantara for the coveted prize. Alcantara was tagged by the Atlanta Braves on Friday in an 8-1 loss for the Miami Marlins, so Urias has a chance to make the race closer if he can maintain his current form for one more month.
Over the past three months, Urias has given up more than two earned runs in only two of his last 15 starts. He has allowed more than one run in only four of his last 15 starts and only one of his last eight starts. The last time Urias allowed more than one run in a start: July 29. He gave up two runs in seven innings at Coors Field against the Rockies. Seven innings and two runs in Coors is a fantastic start. Urias simply isn't making any significant mistakes. He is a machine, and his 2.32 ERA doesn't seem to do justice to his high-level consistency for the Dodgers.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Padres-Dodgers MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Padres-Dodgers Odds
San Diego Padres: +1.5 (-114)
Los Angeles Dodgers: -1.5 (-105)
Over: 8.5 (-118)
Under: 8.5 (-104)
Why The Padres Could Cover the Spread
The Padres hammered the Dodgers on Friday night in Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles has been a nightmare for San Diego over the past two seasons — both the city itself and the Dodgers themselves. The city and the team have both bothered the Padres in head-to-head competition, so it was a plot twist to see San Diego come into town and mash against the home team. Even though the Dodgers have the pitching advantage in this matchup, the fact that the Padres' bats came alive on Friday could carry them through this Saturday game. If this very powerful and imposing lineup puts good swings on the ball, Julio Urias will get pounded. Urias is bound to have a clunker, given that he hasn't had a bad start in nearly two months.
Why The Dodgers Could Cover the Spread
After Friday's loss, the Dodgers will be motivated to bounce back. This team has lost three games in a row. That rarely happens. The odds of the Dodgers losing four in a row are low. They're even lower when you realize how great Julio Urias has been over the past two months, and how bad Sean Manaea has been over the past two months. So many factors point to the Dodgers winning this game decisively.
Final Padres-Dodgers Prediction & Pick
Urias versus Manaea is as good a pitching matchup as the Dodgers could hope for. Los Angeles has lost a few games in a row and is highly likely to bounce back in this spot.
Final Padres-Dodgers Prediction & Pick: Dodgers -1.5
