Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres Betting Preview
Saturday night will feature a battle of NL West heavyweights as the Los Angeles Dodgers (10-3) take on the San Diego Padres (9-6). The Padres will host this one at Petco Park, with the first pitch scheduled for 8:40 pm ET.
The Dodgers were able to take the first game of the series on Friday, 6-1. In the win, Julio Urias went five innings, allowing just one run on two hits and three walks while striking out six.
Offensively, Mookie Betts hammered two home runs while Max Muncy added a home run, three runs batted in, and a run scored.
The Padres struggled to get much going offensively as they managed just one run on four hits.
Nick Martinez took the loss despite giving up just two runs in 4.2 innings. He allowed four hits and walked five in the defeat.
The Dodgers are the favorite despite playing on the road. They are -118 to win while the Padres’ moneyline sits at +100. The runline features San Diego +1.5 (-178), and the over/under for total runs is eight.
Pitching Matchup
Los Angeles will trot out lefty Tyler Anderson (1-0, 2.25 ERA) to make the start Saturday. He picked up the win over the Reds in his last outing after going four innings in relief and allowing just one run.
San Diego will counter with 35-year-old righty Yu Darvish (1-1, 6.28 ERA). After giving up nine runs in his second start of the season, he bounced back with a fantastic effort last time out. He beat Atlanta after giving up just one run in 6.2 innings of work.
Dodgers Out To Prove They Are Still The Cream Of The NL West
While the Dodgers are the favorites to win the NL West this season, there is a lot of respect being given to both the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants, who have each had solid starts to their season.
In fact, the division has been so strong that the Padres, who are 9-6 this year, have just the fourth-best record in the division. On Saturday, the Dodgers will look to remind San Diego why the division still runs through Los Angeles.
Offensively, Dodgers’ fans have to be relieved by the start to the season that outfielder Cody Bellinger is having. After a miserable 2021, Bellinger is hitting .255/.327/.489 with two home runs and four runs batted in. He still strikes out too much (leads the team with 16), but he has shown a better approach at the plate in the early going this year.
Keep an eye on both Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner in this one. Against Darvish, Freeman is hitting .364 in 11 at bats with a home run. Turner is five for eight against the righty with a homer as well.
San Diego Looks To Home Field Advantage In Game 2
To start the season, the Padres are above .500 both at home and on the road. Still, with the division-rival Dodgers in the house, they will look to use their home field advantage (5-3 at Petco Park to start the year) to even the series at one game apiece.
Both Jurickson Profar and Manny Machado have had really strong starts to the year. In 41 at bats, Profar is hitting .244/.385/.585, but he leads the team with four home runs and 11 runs batted in. A bit more consistent at the plate, Machado is hitting .357/.429/.607 with three home runs and ten runs batted in.
The Padres have a few players who have had success against Anderson. Eric Hosmer is batting .353 against the lefty in 17 at bats with a home run. Jorge Alfaro also has a homer against him while hitting .400 in five at bats.
Dodgers/Padres Pick and Prediction
This may boil down to which Yu Darvish shows up. Will it be the one that gave up nine runs in just 1.2 innings against the Giants or the one that held the defending champion Braves to just a single run in 6.2 innings?
Given that his first start saw Darvish blank the Diamondbacks over six innings, it seems like the blow-up versus the Giants was mostly an anomaly.
Even against a potent lineup like the one the Dodgers have, Darvish has the ability to take Los Angeles out of the game with his stuff. At the very least, there is a lot of value in taking the Padres as underdogs on the runline at +1.5.
Take San Diego +1.5 (-178).
