The San Diego Padres take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Check out our MLB odds series for our Padres Dodgers prediction and pick.
Mike Clevinger starts for San Diego, while Caleb Ferguson gets a spot start for the Dodgers.
Mike Clevinger has a 3.59 ERA. He has been a decent pitcher, and little else, this season. That's not a criticism, only a reflection of the reality that he fits between any extreme designations or outcomes. He exists squarely between the realms of dominance and mediocrity. One could do far worse than Clevinger. He is competent and productive, and also unremarkable. In his last four starts, Clevinger has pitched 20 1/3 innings and given up eight runs. That's solid, decent, and unremarkable — good enough that he is preventing significant damage, but not especially impressive due to the fact that he isn't pitching very deep into games on most occasions.
It is worth noting that Clevinger has pitched only 85 1/3 innings this season. He has pitched six full innings or more in only six of his appearances this season. Five of those comparatively longer appearances came in a five-week period from June 29 through Aug. 1. The Padres would love to see Clevinger pitch six full innings in his September starts, so that the bullpen is fresher for October, assuming the Padres get there. San Diego is in a very good spot right now due to the struggles of the Philadelphia Phillies and especially the Milwaukee Brewers.
Caleb Ferguson will be the opener in a bullpen game for the Dodgers. He has pitched only 24 1/3 innings this season with the Dodgers and has not gone two innings in any of his appearances this year. The Dodgers have gotten fantastic production from their bullpen, with Evan Phillips, Chris Martin, and numerous other arms answering the call when Dave Roberts has needed them.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Padres-Dodgers MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Padres-Dodgers Odds
San Diego Padres: +1.5 (-146)
Los Angeles Dodgers: -1.5 (+122)
Over: 9.5 (-112)
Under: 9.5 (-108)
Why The Padres Could Cover the Spread
The Padres don't have to deal with Tony Gonsolin, Clayton Kershaw, or Julio Urias in this game. The Dodger bullpen has been very good, but in September, with arms being more tired and the Dodgers being comfortably ahead in the race not only for the division championship, but also the No. 1 seed in the National League playoffs, the Padres should be able to produce some good at-bats. The Padres have a lot more on the line in this game than the Dodgers do, another reason to pick them. Mike Clevinger is not a dominant pitcher, but if he delivers five innings and one run allowed, that should be good enough against the Dodgers on a day when none of their top starters will be throwing.
Why The Dodgers Could Cover the Spread
After thrashing the Padres on Saturday, the Dodgers' bats — which weren't that hot over the course of the past week — got the rejuvenating moment they needed. The Dodgers were contained by the Marlins last weekend. They lost a series to the Mets in the middle of the week. They were shut down by the Padres and Yu Darvish on Friday night. They finally busted loose on Saturday, and that should carry over into Sunday's game.
Final Padres-Dodgers Prediction & Pick
If you know what's going to happen in a Dodger bullpen game where Los Angeles doesn't absolutely need to win, then go for it … but the logical play is to stay home. If you insist on a pick, take the Padres.
Final Padres-Dodgers Prediction & Pick: Padres +1.5
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