It’s a showdown in the Wild West on FOX Saturday Baseball when the San Diego Padres head up I-5 to tangle with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first meeting in LA between the top two teams in the NL West this season. We typically see more games between division rivals at this juncture of the season, but the clubs are hooking up for just their second series. The Dodgers took two of three in San Diego in April outscoring the Pads 18-6 extending their dominance against their SoCal neighbor. San Diego’s second half collapse last season was aided by LA winning the last nine meetings.
First pitch for this NL West matchup between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers is set for 7:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 2, 2022. The game will air live on FOX from Dodger Stadium. BookMaker.eu will have betting options for every game of the MLB season.
MLB Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
They say good pitching stops good hitting and the Padres are firm believers in that. Boasting one of the top rotations in baseball has helped them overcome the season-long absence of Fernando Tatis Jr. and the recent departure of Manny Machado. That’s a good chunk of offense out of the lineup, but pitching has saved the day. Heck Bob Melvin even turned to part-time starter Nick Martinez to finish off Wednesday’s 4-0 win over Arizona ending a three-game losing streak. There were some bullpen issues during that slide including blowing a 6-0 lead against the D-Backs in the first game of that recent series.
The offense is expected to pick up when Tatis and Machado rejoin the lineup. Though the club hasn’t released a timetable, Machado could be in the lineup this weekend after performing on-field drills in Arizona. That would be jolt for an offense that has a .698 OPS and ranks 24th in homers. Machado leads the club in average, homers and RBIs and hasn’t played in over a week. Thanks to their sterling rotation the Pads have won nearly 60 percent of their games and are one of the most profitable teams up $844 on the moneyline.
So much is expected of the Dodgers that when they lose games it’s kind of a big deal. Their recent road trip ended on a sour note with two losses to Colorado. They still went 5-3 to maintain their lead in the division and look to turn things around at home where they’ve been great during their nine-season playoff run. They enter this series with a 20-12 home record and winners of nearly 62 percent of their games.
Injuries have been a big issue with LA’s rotation but it remains one of the best thanks to the outstanding work of Sunday’s probable starter Tyler Anderson and MLB ERA leader Tony Gonsolin. Coupled with an offense that leads the majors in runs, the Dodgers have a NL best plus-125 run differential making them a solid 41-32 against the runline. And they’ve done this with Mookie Betts shelved and Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy all hitting below .220.
Probable Pitchers
Utilizing a six- and sometimes seven-man rotation has allowed San Diego starters to pitch deeper into games. Of course it also helps to get players out, which the Pads have done routinely posting a MLB best 42 quality starts. With the exception of one horrible outing this year Yu Darvish (7-3, 3.26 ERA) has been money. His second start was his worst as a big leaguer giving up nine earned in 1.2 innings to the Giants. Since that debacle he’s allowed more than three runs only twice in 12 starts and he’s been electric in his last four outings going 3-0 with a 1.61 ERA and 0.75 WHIP. His best performance of the season came against the Dodgers with six innings of one-hit shutout ball with seven strikeouts.
The Dodgers have maintained their division lead with Tyler Anderson (8-1, 3.23 ERA) and Tony Gonsolin winning 17 of a combined 18 decisions. That lone loss came earlier in the week when Anderson gave up four runs and 10 hits over six innings in a 4-0 setback to the Rockies. Anderson entered this season with a career record of 36-49 and you have to wonder if his current numbers will eventually gravitate toward the mean. There’s been evidence in his last two starts with seven earned surrendered and a 5.59 ERA and 1.55 WHIP across 11 innings. He started against Darvish back in April giving up four hits and three walks in 4.2 innings.
Padres at Dodgers MLB Odds Pick
The Dodgers were winners in 11 of 12 meetings prior to this series and things have a way of evening out between quality clubs. I’m leaning toward backing the visitors especially behind Darvish, but I’ll rather throw down on the UNDER with all things considered.
MLB Odds Prediction: San Diego Padres / UNDER
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