With their season hanging in the balance, the third and final baseball playoff game of the scheduled Saturday slate will have everything on the line as the Los Angeles Dodgers battle it out with their division rivals in the San Diego Padres. Join us for our MLB odds series where our Dodgers-Padres Game 4 prediction and pick will be made.
Who would've thought? After winning an MLB-high 111 wins this season, the Dodgers sit on the brink of elimination with back-to-back losses in this series including a 2-1 pitcher's duel last night. Whether it has been a mix of poor fielding, hitting, pitching, or all of the above, Los Angeles is running out of time to right their wrongs. It will come down to the lefty in Tyler Anderson to keep the Dodgers season alive as he has pitched to the tune of a 15-5 record to go along with a 2.57 ERA during the season.
Last night, the city of San Diego rejoiced and celebrated their first playoff win in person since the stadium opened its doors in 2004. Clearly, there seems to a certain magic surrounding this exciting Padres team. In order to close the door, San Diego will rely on one of their own aces in starter Joe Musgrove, who has endured a career-best season with his 10-7 record and 2.93 ERA in 30 regular season starts.
Here are the Dodgers-Padres MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Dodgers-Padres Odds
Los Angeles Dodgers: -1.5 (+146)
San Diego Padres: +1.5 (-176)
Over: 7.5 (-105)
Under: 7.5 (-115)
Why The Dodgers Could Cover The Spread
It all comes down to this! All season long, the talk of the town was how dangerous this Dodgers roster is and how this season was the best chance that LA has had in recent memory to bring home a World Series trophy. However, those exclamations seem dim at this point, as the Dodgers backs are up against the wall as they must win two in a row to keep their championship aspirations alive.
Yes, things may appear dire after losing two straight to the Padres of all teams, but don't be counting out this Dodgers squad out quite yet. At first glance, Los Angeles needs better performances from the heart of their lineup. Although extremely efficient all season long, the dynamic trio of Trea Turner, Freddie Freeman, and Will Smith in the 3-4-5 slots combined to go for 1-10 and failed to do much of anything at the plate. Not to mention, but the Dodgers cannot have a repeat of their struggles with runners in scoring position, as they left seven men on-base that ultimately cost them the game.
While the offense needs to sort things out, at least the pitching staff has been up to snuff. Throughout the regular season, LA dominated opposing lineups and accumulated top statistical marks in team ERA, batting average against, and even WHIP. Luckily, Tyler Anderson will be tasked in keeping San Diego at bay from the mound, as he was 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA in four starts during the regular season. Outside of maybe Kershaw, Anderson is the Dodgers' best chance of putting up a stellar outing from the bump and extending their season.
Why The Padres Could Cover The Spread
There have been some hard and difficult times looking back at the history of the San Diego Padres, but the right kind of history may be made at Petco Park in front of thousands upon thousands of Padres fans. Now, the Padres have at least 18 innings to work with to win make a trip to the NLCS for the first time since 1998. Indeed, there are a plethora of fans including the younger ones that have never seen the Padres make that deep of a postseason run. With a chance to spoil the Dodgers season to make this historic run even sweeter, the time is now for San Diego to take care of business.
For starters, a repeat of the pitching prowess that the Friars put on display would be a huge boost. Simply put, the stellar outing from starter Blake Snell all the way down to the rest of the bullpen was a thing of beauty. Crazy enough, the Padres may in even better hands with Musgrove taking the mound tonight. Hands down, the 29-year-old pitcher has been one of San Diego most efficient starting hurlers and represents the perfect option to close out this series and also cover the spread in doing so.
While the Friars offensive attack had seen better days than yesterday, don't be surprised if San Diego covers the spread by clubbing the baseball left and right. Be on the lookout for names like Manny Machado and even Trent Grisham, who homered in last night's game, to wreak some havoc on Los Angeles' pitching staff.
Final Dodgers-Padres Game 4 Prediction & Pick
The Padres may not be tasked with as good of an opportunity as they do later tonight in closing the door on the Dodgers at home. However, LA is stacked with playoff experience and has been in positions like this before. With that being said, Los Angeles should dig down deep and come away with a spread-covering victory to force a win-or-go-home Game 5 back in the City of Angels.
Final Dodgers-Padres Prediction & Pick: Dodgers -1.5 (+146)
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