The Washington Nationals take on the San Diego Padres. Check out our MLB odds series for our Nationals Padres prediction and pick.
Paulo Espino goes to the hill for the Nationals, while Blake Snell starts for the Padres.
Paulo Espino lost to the Padres this past Sunday in Washington, pitching 5 2/3 innings and giving up four runs. Notably, the 5 2/3 innings marked Espino’s longest outing of the entire season. He has never pitched six full innings in any 2022 appearance. He has pitched five full innings in only three of his last nine appearances. Espino was used primarily as a reliever through the first week of June. He was then moved to the starting rotation, where he has struggled. His ERA is 4.20. In his last four starts, he has allowed 14 earned runs in 19 1/3 innings.
Blake Snell is pitching the way the Padres need him to pitch, and the way the Padres expected him to pitch. This is the man who led the Rays to the 2020 American League pennant and gave the Dodgers nightmares in the World Series. Snell started the year terribly. At the end of June, his ERA for the season was 5.60. Now it is 3.66. Snell has allowed more than one earned run in only one of his last eight starts. This past Sunday against the Nationals, Snell dominated, throwing six scoreless innings and striking out 10 while giving up only three hits and walking none. The Nationals will have to make significant adjustments to figure out a red-hot pitcher.
Courtesy of FanDuelhere are the Nationals-Padres MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Nationals-Padres Odds
Washington Nationals: +1.5 (+130)
San Diego Padres: -1.5 (-156)
Over: 7.5 (-120)
Under: 7.5 (-102)
Why The Nationals Could Cover the Spread
The Nationals clearly won’t back down against the Padres. The two teams have played four times since the Juan Soto-Josh Bell trade. The Nationals were a bad team even with Soto and Bell in the Washington lineup. Then the Nats traded them to San Diego. The gap in talent between these teams is massive. Yet, the two sides are 2-2 in the first four games since that blockbuster deal. Anibal Sanchez and Yu Darvish have pitched against each other twice in the past week, and the Nationals won both of those games. The Nats held San Diego to a Manny Machado solo homer on Thursday in a 3-1 win. Are you sure the Padres are going to win this game?
Why The Padres Could Cover The Spread
After getting shut down by Anibal Sanchez and several relievers on Thursday, the thoroughly humiliated Padres will be steaming mad for this game. You should see a much better performance from the Padres at the plate. Also, Blake Snell is simply DEALING right now. He dominated the Nats this past Sunday. Even if he doesn’t match that standard, he is still unlikely to give up more than three runs. Given that the Padres figure to score at least five if not more, San Diego should cover.
Final Nationals-Padres Prediction & Pick
If the Padres don’t come out and smoke the Nats after their embarrassing display on Thursday, the doubts about the team are only going to increase. The Padres know this is a hugely important game. They failed on Thursday, but in baseball, there’s always the next day. Expect San Diego to roll on Friday night.
Final Nationals-Padres Prediction & Pick: Padres -1.5
