Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres Betting Preview
The San Diego Padres are hoping that Friday night’s 5-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks is the start of something good. San Diego had been in a rut with losses in five of their previous six but have now improved to 8-2 against Arizona this season.
Arizona has dropped to 3-7 in their last ten, and their current losing streak has reached three games. The Diamondbacks are one of the five worst road teams in the MLB, so it’s no shock the Padres are -190 favorites on Saturday night. It’s hard to even find value in Arizona at +160.
Can Arizona Get the Upset?
The Diamondbacks hit two home runs off Yu Darvish on Friday night, but it still wasn’t enough as they fell 5-3. Arizona also struck out nine times in 7.0 IP against Darvish and could only manage one hit against the San Diego bullpen.
Things don’t get a whole lot easier for Arizona on Saturday against Sean Manaea. This will be the fourth time the Diamondbacks have faced Manaea this season, going 1-2 against the left-hander so far. Arizona is also just 14-38 in their last 52 road games against a LH starting pitcher.
Arizona counters with a southpaw of their own as Tyler Gilbert (0-3, 5.33 ERA) makes his sixth start of the season. Gilbert famously fired a no-hitter against the Padres last year in his first career start, but he’s had a rocky 2022 that has been split between the majors and Triple A.
Padres Want a Win Streak
It’s always important to go into the All-Star break on a win streak, especially against a divisional opponent – even if Arizona is in last place in the NL West. San Diego is just 5-9 in July after being above .500 in each of the first three months of the season. That poor stretch has dropped them to 9.5 games back from the Dodgers.
Gilbert fired a no hitter against San Diego last season and has gone 1-1 against the Padres with a 1.69 ERA in three career appearances. Saturday night will be the first time the team has faced the left-hander in 2022, and he’s got a couple of outings where he’s allowed 6ER in his five starts this season.
Manaea (3-4, 4.18 ERA) pitched at Coors Field in his last outing, but he was solid, allowing just 2 ER over 6.1 IP. Now the left-hander returns to Petco Park, where he is 2-3 with a 4.54 ERA on the year compared to a 3.76 ERA on the road.
Diamondbacks vs. Padres Pick and Prediction
It’s hard not to take San Diego’s 8-2 record against Arizona this season into consideration for this play. The Diamondbacks are one of the worst road teams in baseball at 17-25, and for what it’s worth, they’ve also lost six of their last seven Saturday games.
We don’t know what to expect from Gilbert, who has had some success against the Padres last season but has yet to face them in 2022. Have to go with the home team big in this one.
Pick: Padres -1.5 (+110)
