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Game 2 of the series is Saturday night on FS1! The Houston Astros host the San Diego Padres for an interleague battle. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a Padres-Astros prediction and pick.
Game 1 of the series is Friday night with Kyle Hart going up against Ryan Gusto.
Padres-Astros Projected Starters
Michael King vs. Hayden Wesneski
Michael King (3-0) with a 2.42 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 24 K's in 22.1 innings.
Last Start: First career complete game shutout. He went the distance against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park, allowing just two hits, striking out eight, and walking just one.
Away Splits: (1-0) with a 4.76 ERA in 5.2 innings on the road. He allowed three runs and walked two against the Athletics in his only road outing.
Hayden Wesneski (1-1) with a 4.00 ERA, 21 K's, 0.72 WHIP in 18.0 innings this season. His WHIP is 4th in the majors right now.
Last Start: 6.0 innings, five hits allowed, three earned runs all from solo homers, walked zero, and struck out 10 hitters in the 7-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
Home Splits: (1-1) with a 4.91 ERA, 16 strikeouts in two starts.
Here are the MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Padres-Astros Odds
San Diego Padres: -1.5 (+132)
Moneyline: -120
Houston Astros: +1.5 (-160)
Moneyline: -102
Over: 8 (-118)
Under: 8 (-104)
How to Watch Padres vs. Astros
Time: 7:10 ET/4:10 PT
TV: FS1, Padres.TV
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why The Padres Will Cover The Spread/Win
It will be very tough for Michael King to top his last outing. He was damn-near perfect on the afternoon as the Rockies could not touch his stuff that day. The Astros are a much better offense, and he doesn't pitch as well on the road. Still, King should give the Padres a quality start and maybe even more if his stuff is still making hitters wiff. King was the Opening Day starter for the Friars, and even though he didn't pitch well that afternoon, he has bounced back by reaching 19.2 innings in three starts. The Padres are 4-0 when King is on the bump.
The starting rotation and bullpen have been phenomenal to begin. SD has a team average of 2.56, which is second only to the New York Mets, who are at .230. SD and LA are tied in saves at nine while having the most wins in the league at 15. SD has a 1.52 bullpen ERA, which is the best in the majors.
The Padres were hoping to get Jackson Merrill back for this series, but it looks like he may miss more time with his leg injury. He and Jake Cronenworth will miss this series. However, the Friars' lineup continues to rake. Entering Friday, SD leads the majors in team batting average at .274. The Padres are also tied for 3rd in hits at 171.
Fernando Tatis Jr. is putting up MVP numbers. He currently has the second-best odds to win it, alongside Corbin Carroll. We all know Shohei Ohtani will be a strong favorite to win, but Tatis is having an electric start to the campaign. He's hitting .348 with six homers and 14 RBIs. His 1.048 OPS is 9th in the league while stealing six bags.
Why The Astros Will Cover The Spread/Win
Hayden Wesneski is a sneaky good pitcher for the Astros. He gets a lot of hitters to swing and miss, generating a ton of strikeouts. If he continues this pace for the season, he will finish among the top starters in K's. The issue is that he allows the long ball too often. He's allowed five homers in three starts. Wesneski is giving the Astros a good performance each time out there, but he must work on not letting some of those pitches reach the sweet spot. The Padres' lineup will absolutely take advantage of that.
Jose Altuve continues to dominate in Houston. He already has 23 hits on the season, which is tied for 13th in the majors. Furthermore, he is batting .311 with three homers and seven RBIs. He's the team's leadoff hitter and is either the DH or playing in left field.
Isaac Paredes is off to a decent start to begin his Astros' career. He has three homers and 10 RBIs and has walked 10 times already this year. Christian Walker, on the other hand, is having a rough start. He has just one homer and is batting .154 with a .482 OPS. He has one hit in his last five games. If the Astros want to win this game, Walker must figure out a way to hit. He has experience facing the Friars from his time in Arizona.
Jordan Alvarez is having a slow start to the year as well. He has just two bombs and is batting .224. His OPS is way down at just .695. He neds to have a big series to turn around his slow start to the season.
Final Padres-Astros Prediction & Pick
The Padres are hot and should win this game on the road. King is one of the top pitchers in the game right now and the Friars play well when he is on the bump. Take the moneyline.
Final Padres-Astros Prediction & Pick: Padres ML (-120)
