The top two teams in the NL West are set for a series beginning at 9:45 p.m. ET on Monday as the San Diego Padres visit the San Francisco Giants.
A season ago, the Padres were the trending pick to compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but it was the Giants who won 107 games and the division.
This season it is again the Padres who are the pick to finish second. They’ve added Sean Manaea, Jorge Alfaro, and Luke Voit, among others, to strengthen their rotation, lineup, and defense. So far, it’s paid off, going 3-1 in the opening weekend series against Arizona.
The Giants have also added to their roster, landing Carlos Rodon and Joc Pederson to bolster their rotation after some pitchers left and adding another left-handed bat. Again, the Giants were the overlooked team to start the season, and they’re 2-1 after a weekend series against Miami.
Monday’s game features Nick Martinez for the Padres and San Francisco’s Alex Wood. The line favors San Francisco by 1.5 with an over/under of 8.5 as of this writing.
San Francisco Giants Betting Preview: Wake up the bats
It’s a testament to San Francisco’s pitching staff that they won the first series. The offense hit .188, the third-worst mark on the early season. They did draw nine walks, though. Brandon Belt was two for eight with a home run.
He, Thairo Estrada, and Joey Bart each scored a pair of runs on the series, too. Darin Ruf has the top average, with at least five at-bats, going 3 for 11.
Wood was part of a pitching resurgence by the Bay a year ago, finishing 10-4 with a 3.83 ERA and 152 strikeouts in 138.2 innings pitched. He’s known for flipping curveballs time and against, which lifting those early in games could lead to home runs. But unlikely with the colder weather moving in.
San Diego Padres Betting Preview: Strong on both sides
San Diego had starters exit with no-hitters in each of its first two games. Now Martinez is faced with a more potent lineup.
The 32-year-old has not pitched in the Major League’s since 2017, which concluded a four-year stint with Texas. For his career, he’s 17-30 with a 4.77 ERA. With limited film on his recent outings, that should play to his advantage.
Averaging five runs per game, the Padres are fifth in baseball. They also are hitting .252 (ninth) with a .348 on-base percentage (seventh). The pitching staff has a 2.83 ERA (eighth).
Jurickson Profar went four for 10 with a pair of home runs in the opening series. Eric Hosmer was six for 12, and Austin Nola was four for 10. Nola, Wil Myers, and Manny Machado will have to attack early in righty-on-lefty matchups.
Betting Prediction
Over the last 15 games in this series, the over has hit 12 times. Expanding on that, the over is 10-4-1 in the series with games in San Francisco. As of this writing, 57% of the money is on the San Francisco moneyline, and 52% is on the under.
Padres betting trends show they are 2-14 over their last 16 Game 1s of a series. The under is 4-0 in their last four Game 1s, though the over is 5-1 in their last six Monday games.
San Diego has certainly been the better team, but San Francisco has the better arm starting. We’ll take Giants -1.
100% up to $3,000 Bonus
Bovada is our most recommended ONLINE CASINO and POKER ROOM for US players with excellent deposit options. Get your 100% signup bonus today.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.