The San Diego Padres take on the Atlanta Braves. Our MLB odds series has our Padres Braves prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Padres Braves.
The San Diego Padres have stumbled out of the gate this season. They had a lot of trouble with the Colorado Rockies last season, playing near .500 ball in 19 games against a bad team. They started the 2023 season by splitting four games with the Rockies at home. Then the Padres blew a 5-1 lead to the Arizona Diamondbacks this past Tuesday, setting up their first road trip of the new campaign. The Padres grabbed a late 6-4 lead over the Braves but could not hold the advantage. Atlanta rallied for a 7-6 victory.
The Padres did reach the National League Championship Series last season, but it is definitely worth noting that San Diego did not catch fire after the megadeals which brought Juan Soto and Josh Hader to the ballclub. The Padres frankly backdoored into the playoffs, taking advantage of the large number of wild card spots available to major-league teams. San Diego's pitching hit its stride in the postseason against the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers, but the Padres' regular-season performance was ordinary. We're still waiting to see what a high-octane Padre team looks like over the course of two or three months of regular-season competition. We have not seen the Padres play like a heavyweight team in a 90- or 100-game chunk of play the way the Dodgers and Yankees have done in recent seasons.
Here are the Padres-Braves MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Padres-Braves Odds
San Diego Padres: +1.5 (-188)
Atlanta Braves: -1.5 (+155)
Over: 9.5 (+100)
Under: 9.5 (-122)
How To Watch Padres vs. Braves
TV: Apple TV+
Stream: Apple TV+
Time: 7:20 p.m. ET/4:20 p.m. PT
*Watch LIVE on fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Padres Could Cover The Spread
The Padres are going up against Atlanta starter Jared Shuster, who does not have ample big-league experience, and who pitched like a newcomer this past Sunday in a loss to the lowly Washington Nationals. Shuster gave up four runs in the first inning and clearly looked intimidated. The Padres, with their loaded batting order, can bring the lumber and knock Shuster out of the box. Going from the Nationals — who just got shut out at Coors Field on Thursday against the Rockies — to the Padres is a huge leap for Shuster. He might round into form later this season, but one start against the Nats probably isn't sufficient preparation for the Atlanta pitcher against the Padres.
Why The Braves Could Cover The Spread
The Braves are a confident team playing confident baseball. They won each of their first two series of the season against the Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals. They rallied from a late two-run deficit against the San Diego bullpen on Thursday. There are no easy outs, no places to hide, in this batting order. The Braves should feast against San Diego's Nick Martinez, who is a competent pitcher but hardly an elite arm when compared to other starters in the National League. Atlanta should love this matchup, and it can give Jared Shuster more than enough run support.
Final Padres-Braves Prediction & Pick
The best pick in this game is not a team, but a total. Neither Nick Martinez nor Jared Shuster inspires much confidence on the bump. These teams are both loaded with elite hitters. They just played a 13-run game on Thursday. Go with the over at a plus price.
Final Padres-Braves Prediction & Pick: Over 9.5