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The San Diego Padres host the Washington Nationals for Game 2 of the 3-game series at Petco Park. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a Nationals-Padres prediction and pick.
The Nationals come in at (28-47) which places them last in the National League. They have lost eight of their last 10 games and will finish with a bottom-3 record by season's end. It will be a couple of seasons until this team is competitive again, however, the future is bright with a ton of young talent.
The Padres are still underperforming this season. You wouldn't know it if you watched the last two games, yet they are still below .500 with a (37-39) record. The Padres have been trying to get back to .500 for over a month now after that stretch where they lost nine of 10 games really hurt them back in May. They have scored 23 runs combined in their last two games and hope to continue the hot hitting.
Here are the Nationals-Padres MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Nationals-Padres Odds
Washington Nationals: +1.5 (-125)
San Diego Padres: -1.5 (+104)
Over: 9 (-105)
Under: 9 (-115)
How To Watch Nationals vs. Padres
TV: MASN
Stream: MLB TV, MLB Extra Innings
Time: 8:40 ET/5:40 PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Nationals Could Cover The Spread
Starting for the Nationals is their top pitcher Josiah Gray. The 25-year-old is (4-6) on the season with a 3.64 ERA in 84 innings pitched. Gray did not pitch against San Diego the last time they met earlier in the season. His last start was very rough as he allowed six runs and nine hits against the St. Louis Cardinals. Prior to that loss, he allowed four runs to the Houston Astros but did pitch seven innings. Gray will need to be on his game to keep San Diego from continuing their hot hitting.
The odd thing about this Nationals' lineup is that they are the only team in the MLB with eight players with over 220 at-bats. Their lineup has been the same all season long, which is shocking considering how poorly they have played. The Nationals have scored 308 runs total this season which is 25th in the majors. Something needs to change quickly if they want to improve. The good news is that this team is young and the more at-bats these guys get the better it will be in the future. This lineup has a chance to do some damage tonight facing a rookie pitcher in his debut.
Why The Padres Could Cover The Spread
Michael Wacha was scheduled to start today, but fatigue is forcing him to skip a start in the rotation. Wacha will be back next week.
Matt Waldron has earned himself a start at the big-league level. He will be making his MLB debut tonight against the Nationals and he will be the first knuckleballer since 2021. The 26-year-old has a 7.02 ERA with 75 strikeouts in Triple-A this season. You look at those numbers and question why on earth would he be the one called up. Waldron wasn't even on the 40-man roster either. Yet, the Friars chose him to make a spot start while Wacha sits. Ryan Weathers had been the guy previously in this situation, but after some bad outings, he is stationed back in El Paso. If Waldron can pitch at least 4-5 innings tonight, that would be huge for this Padres team.
The offense has exploded the last few nights. This is what we are expecting to see from this dynamic Friars lineup. Ha-Seong Kim, Juan Soto, and Xander Bogaerts all homered in the 13-3 win in Game 1. Soto now has three homers against his former team and is really making the Nationals pay for trading him. Bogaerts needed that homer badly last night as he has been in a major slump. If he and Machado turn things around, then this lineup is very scary. I don't even need to mention Fernando Tatis Jr. We all know what he's going to do.
Final Nationals-Padres Prediction & Pick
This game should be a lot closer and the Nationals have a chance to score some runs. However, I really like the under at nine as the best call on the board. The Padres need to prove they can win consistently despite the jump offensively.
Final National-Padres Prediction & Pick: Under 9 (-115)
