The San Diego Padres take on the San Francisco Giants. Check out our MLB odds series for our Padres Giants prediction and pick.
Sean Manaea goes to the mound for the Padres, while Jakob Junis gets the start for the Giants.
Sean Manaea has a 3.77 ERA. Unlike Junis, Manaea has pitched deep into games this year, registering six starts of at least six full innings and two starts which lasted seven full innings. His ERA is the product of a bad start against the Dodgers on April 24, in which he gave up six earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. His last two starts have been workmanlike but unremarkable: He gave up three runs in six innings to the Marlins on May 7, then three runs in seven innings on May 14 against the Braves.
Jakob Junis has a 1.74 ERA, but he has pitched only 20 2/3 innings. He has made four starts, pitching five innings in three of them and 5 2/3 innings in the other one. Junis has kept walks (4) and home runs (2) to a minimum, a central reason for his success. He has not allowed more than two runs in any of his four outings. He has struck out 18 hitters, nearly one per inning. He shows a lot of promise for the Giants and has given them what they wanted so far this season. It will be interesting to see if he can go six full innings for the first time in 2022. This is an intriguing dimension of any potential Padres Giants prediction you might make.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Padres-Giants MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Padres-Giants Odds
San Diego Padres: +1.5 (-205)
San Francisco Giants: -1.5 (+168)
Over: 7.5 (-114)
Under: 7.5 (-106)
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Why The Padres Could Cover the Spread
The Padres are getting really good pitching from their staff. The Philadelphia Phillies mashed Los Angeles Dodger pitching last weekend in Los Angeles. The Padres flew from Atlanta to Philadelphia for a midweek series and shut down the Phils' hot bats. The starters did most of the work, but the bullpen also answered the call as well. If a staff can handle the Phillies in their hitter-friendly ballpark, it can certainly handle the Giants in San Francisco, where pitchers love to pitch. This is one component of a Padres Giants prediction: San Diego's pitchers are in form and riding the wave.
Another reason to take the Padres against the spread is that as hitters gather more tape on Jakob Junis, they should be able to do more against him as the season continues. Sean Manaea's veteran presence is something the Padres should feel very comfortable about in this first game of a big National League West series.
Why The Giants Could Cover the Spread
After winning a series in Colorado against the Rockies, the Giants come home to host the Padres. San Francisco is 13-9 straight up in its last 22 games against San Diego. The Giants are 2-1 against the Padres this season. San Francisco embraces these big N.L. West showdowns. The Giants had a winning record in the 2021 regular season against both San Diego (11-8) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (10-9). Everyone knows that games among these three California teams will decide the division championship and will have significant National League wild card implications. Based on the past few seasons, the Giants are more trustworthy than the Padres.
The other reason to take San Francisco when making a Padres Giants pick is that Sean Manaea, despite a few very strong starts in which he was almost unhittable, has endured some rough sledding in other starts. One shouldn't assume he will promptly dominate San Francisco's bats. The Giants will work counts and find their spots in which to attack hittable pitches.
Final Padres-Giants Prediction & Pick
If Junis pitches a stellar game, tip the cap to him. However, a Manaea-Junis clash sets up well for the Padres. Trust the veteran in a big division battle. Manaea is more likely to handle the pressure associated with a game of this magnitude.
Final Padres-Giants Prediction & Pick: Padres +1.5
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